Wirelessly operable cooking appliance

ABSTRACT

A wirelessly operable cooking appliance for cooking food products includes a wireless communication device. A computing device, such as a smartphone, can wirelessly communicate with the cooking appliance to control and monitor the cooking appliance.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.14/657,618, filed on Mar. 13, 2015 and titled WIRELESSLY OPERABLECOOKING APPLIANCE, which claims priority to U.S. Patent Application Ser.No. 61/953,031 titled Countertop Cooking Appliance For Use With A RemoteCommunication Device filed Mar. 14, 2014 and to U.S. Patent ApplicationSer. No. 62/128,921 titled WIRELESSLY OPERABLE COOKING APPLIANCE filedMar. 5, 2015, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated byreference in their entireties. To the extent appropriate a claim ofpriority is made to each of the above-disclosed applications.

BACKGROUND

Cooking appliances, such as electrically-heated grills, typicallyrequire a user to remain close to the cooking appliance while cooking. Auser must stay near the cooking appliance and cannot leave it for a longtime because the user needs to monitor the cooking appliance and a fooditem placed therein. For example, a user of the cooking appliance has tofrequently check the cooking appliance to determine when the cookingappliance reaches an appropriate temperature before placing a food itemin the cooking appliance, and whether the food time has beenappropriately heated.

SUMMARY

In general terms, this disclosure is directed to a wirelessly operablecooking appliance. In one possible configuration and by non-limitingexample, the cooking appliance is controlled through a user computingdevice via a wireless network. Various aspects are described in thisdisclosure, which include, but are not limited to, the followingaspects.

One aspect is a cooking appliance comprising: a housing; a heatingelement disposed within the housing; a cooking plate mounted on thehousing; and a control device configured to communicate with a usercomputing device via a wireless network, receive a cooking configurationfrom the user computing device via the wireless network, and control theheating element to heat the cooking plate based upon the cookingconfiguration.

Another aspect is a method of controlling a cooking appliance, themethod comprising: receiving cooking configuration data from a usercomputing device via a wireless network, the cooking configuration dataincluding a target cooking temperature; and controlling a heatingelement to heat a cooking plate until a temperature of a food itemreaches the target cooking temperature.

Yet another aspect is a cooking appliance comprising: a first assemblycomprising: a first housing; a first heating element disposed with thefirst housing; and a first cooking plate detachably mounted on the firsthousing; a second assembly comprising: a second housing pivotallycoupled to the first housing; and a second heating element disposed withthe second housing; a control circuit configured to communicate with auser computing device via a wireless network and operable to: receivecooking configuration data from the user computing device, the cookingconfiguration data including a target cooking temperature; and controlat least one of the first and second heating elements to heat the firstcooking plate until a temperature of a food item reaches the targetcooking temperature.

Further, the present disclosure generally relates to cooking appliances.More specifically, the present disclosure relates to countertop cookingappliances, such as contact grills, rice cookers, skillets, griddles,toaster ovens, waffle makers, and slow cookers, and remote communicationdevices, such as mobile phones, portable computers, tablet computers,personal digital assistants, etc.

In one aspect of the present disclosure, a countertop cooking applianceincludes a heating element, a sensor configured to detect an operationalcharacteristic of the countertop cooking appliance, and a controllercoupled to the sensor. The controller is configured to send a signalindicative of the detected operational characteristic to a remotecommunication device.

Another aspect of the disclosure is a countertop cooking appliance. Thecountertop cooking appliance includes a heating element and acontroller. The controller includes a communication interface configuredto receive settings from a remote communication device. The controlleris configured to control the heating element based at least in part onthe settings received from the remote communication device.

In another aspect of the disclosure, a remote communication device foruse with a countertop cooking appliance is provided. The remotecommunication device includes a display device, a processor, and amemory coupled to the processor. The memory stores instructions that,when executed by the processor, cause the processor to: receive a user'sselection of at least one setting to cook a food item using thecountertop cooking appliance, transmit the at least one setting to theremote communication device, receive at least one of food item data andoperational data from the countertop cooking appliance, determine whencooking of the food item is complete, and display, on the displaydevice, an alert when cooking of the food item is complete.

The features, functions, and advantages described herein may be achievedindependently in various implementations described in the presentdisclosure or may be combined in yet other implementations, furtherdetails of which may be seen with reference to the following descriptionand drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an example cooking appliance system.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an example method of operating the system ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an example cooking appliance in a firstposition.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the cooking appliance of FIG. 3 in asecond position.

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of a bottom assembly of the cookingappliance.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a bottom heating subassembly,illustrating some components of the bottom heating subassembly. I

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the bottom heating subassembly,illustrating a heat insulation panel.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the bottom heating subassembly,illustrating a bottom reflecting plate and a heating element.

FIG. 9 is an example bottom cooking plate.

FIG. 10 illustrates the cooking plate configured as a waffle plate

FIG. 11 illustrates the cooking plate configured as a bake plate.

FIG. 12 illustrates the cooking plate configured as a muffin pan.

FIG. 13 illustrates the cooking plate configured as a griddle plate.

FIG. 14 illustrates the cooking plate configured as an omelet plate.

FIG. 15 is a bottom perspective view of the bottom heating subassembly.

FIG. 16 illustrates that a pivotable stand is flipped over.

FIG. 17 illustrates another example of the pivotable stand.

FIG. 18 is a top perspective view of a top assembly of the cookingappliance, illustrating an upper portion of the top assembly.

FIG. 19 is a top perspective view of the top assembly with a housingcover and a control panel removed.

FIG. 20 is a perspective view of the top assembly, illustrating somecomponents thereof.

FIG. 21 is a perspective view of the top assembly, illustrating a topreflecting plate and a heating element.

FIG. 22 is a perspective view of the top assembly, illustrating anexample top cooking plate.

FIG. 23 illustrates another example of the top heating element of thetop assembly.

FIG. 24 illustrates the cooking appliance in a vertical position.

FIG. 25 is a top view of another example hinge assembly.

FIG. 26 is a side view of the hinge assembly of FIG. 25.

FIG. 27 illustrates example functional operations of an appliancecontrol device.

FIG. 28 illustrates an example functional operation of a user computingdevice executing an appliance control application.

FIG. 29 illustrates an exemplary architecture of a computing device thatcan be used to implement aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 30 is a flowchart illustrating an example method of operating anetwork configuration engine of the appliance control application.

FIG. 31 is a flowchart illustrating an example method of operating anappliance control engine of the appliance control application.

FIG. 32 is a flowchart illustrating an example method of performing apreheat operation with the user computing device.

FIG. 33 is a flowchart illustrating an example method of performing acooking operation with the user computing device.

FIG. 34 is an example interface of the appliance control applicationthat displays a network configuration page.

FIG. 35 is an example interface of the appliance control applicationthat displays a home screen page.

FIG. 36 is an example interface of the appliance control applicationthat displays a preheat operation page.

FIG. 37 is an example interface of the appliance control applicationthat displays a recipe information page.

FIG. 38 is an example interface of the appliance control applicationthat displays a menu page.

FIG. 39 is an example interface of the appliance control applicationthat displays a red meat food type page with a doneness selectionoption.

FIG. 40 is an example interface of the appliance control applicationthat displays a pork food type page with a cooking temperature selectionoption.

FIG. 41 is an example interface of the appliance control applicationthat displays a poultry food type page with a cooking temperatureselection option.

FIG. 42 is an example interface of the appliance control applicationthat displays a fish food type page with a cooking temperature selectionoption.

FIG. 43 is an example interface of the appliance control applicationthat displays a miscellaneous food type page including cooking platetemperature selection and probe temperature selection options.

FIG. 44 is an example interface of the appliance control applicationthat displays a manual cooking mode page including cooking platetemperature selection and probe temperature selection options.

FIG. 45 is an example interface of the appliance control applicationthat displays a preheat status page.

FIG. 46 is an example interface of the appliance control applicationthat displays a preheat-end and ready-to cook notification page.

FIG. 47 is an example interface of the appliance control applicationthat displays a cooking status page including a temperature selectionsnapshot.

FIG. 48 is an example interface of the appliance control applicationthat displays a cooking end notification page including a continuedcooking selection option.

FIG. 49 is an example interface of the appliance control applicationthat displays a rest timer page.

FIG. 50 is an exemplary system having a countertop cooking appliance anda remote communication device;

FIG. 51 is an exemplary computing device;

FIG. 52 is a block diagram of the countertop cooking appliance shown inFIG. 50;

FIG. 53 is a functional block diagram of the exemplary system shown inFIG. 50;

FIG. 54 is a flow diagram of a method for cooking with a countertopcooking appliance and a remote communication device;

FIG. 55 is a flow diagram of another method for cooking with acountertop cooking appliance and a remote communication device;

FIG. 56 is a flow diagram of yet another method for cooking with acountertop cooking appliance and a remote communication device.

FIG. 57 is an example display of the remote communication device shownin FIG. 50.

FIG. 58 is another example display of the remote communication deviceshown in FIG. 50.

FIG. 59 is an example display of the remote communication device shownin FIG. 50.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments will be described in detail with reference to thedrawings, wherein like reference numerals represent like parts andassemblies throughout the several views.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an example cooking appliance system 100.In the embodiments, the cooking appliance system 100 includes a cookingappliance 102 incorporating an appliance control device 104, a usercomputing device 106 manipulated by a user (U) and executing anappliance control application 108, a wireless router 110, and a wirelessnetwork 112. The cooking appliance system 100 is implemented in a usersite (S).

The cooking appliance 102 operates to cook a food item. The cookingappliance 102 provides a place for receiving a food item and isconfigured to heat the food item on or within the place at apredetermined temperature. An example cooking appliance 102 is describedand illustrated in more detail with reference to FIGS. 3-27.

In this document, the cooking appliance 102 is described and illustratedprimarily as a tabletop cooking appliance, such as a countertop grill,and, therefore, the cooking appliance 102 is also referred to herein asthe countertop grill. In other embodiments, however, the cookingappliance 102 can be of various types, other than a tabletop grill, suchas ovens, microwaves, bachelor grillers, roasters, electric cookers,toasters, sandwich toasters, and any other appliances operable accordingto the present disclosure.

The appliance control device 104 operates to control various parts ofthe cooking appliance 102. In some embodiments, the appliance controldevice 104 is configured to communicate with the user computing device106 to receive a user cooking setting (e.g., a cooking configuration)via the wireless network 112, and control the cooking appliance 102 tocook a food item based upon the user cooking setting. An example controldevice 104 is described and illustrated in more detail with reference toFIG. 27.

The user computing device 106 is operated by the user (U) and executesthe appliance control application 108 to control the cooking appliance102 via the wireless network 112. In some embodiments, the usercomputing device 106 is a mobile computing device, such as smartphones,tablet computers, and other mobile devices. An example user computingdevice 106 is described and illustrated in more detail with reference toFIG. 28.

The appliance control application 108 runs on the user computing device106 and provides an interface for the user (U) to control the cookingappliance 102. The user (U) can set up various cooking configurationsthat are sent to the appliance control device 104 via the wirelessnetwork 112, which in turn operates the cooking appliance 102 based uponthe received cooking configurations. An example appliance controlapplication 108 is described and illustrated in more detail withreference to FIG. 28.

The wireless router 110 is a networking device that provides a wirelessconnection between the cooking appliance 102 and the user computingdevice 106 and forwards data packets therebetween. In some embodiments,the wireless router 110 is configured to implement a wireless local areanetwork (WLAN) within the user site (S). In some embodiments, however,communication can occur directly between the computing device 106 andthe cooking appliance 102, and the wireless router 110 is either notincluded, or is integrated with one of the computing device 106 or thecooking appliance 102, for example.

The wireless network 112 communicates digital data wirelessly betweenone or more computing devices, such as between the cooking appliance 102and the user computing device 106. In some embodiments, the wirelessnetwork 112 is configured as a wireless local area network (WLAN) tocover the user site (S). In other embodiments, the wireless network 112can be any suitable type of network and/or a combination of network.Examples of the wireless network include the Internet, a wide areanetwork (WAN), a wireless wide area network (WWAN), a mesh network, avirtual private network (VPN), a cellular network, and/or any othernetwork that allows the cooking appliance system 100 to operate asdescribed herein.

The user site (S) is a place at which the cooking appliance 102 is used.In some embodiments, the user site (S) is a limited area that does notrequire wide area networks (WANs). For example, the user site (S) can bea house, building, and other limited spaces where the user (U) ispresent to use the cooking appliance 102.

In some embodiments, the cooking appliance system 100 includes a servercomputing device arranged either within the user site (S) or remotelyfrom the user site (S). In some embodiments, the server computing deviceis configured to store data that are transmitted to the user computingdevice 106. For example, the server computing device stores dataincluding recipe information and transmit the data to the user computingdevice 106 via a network.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an example method 120 of operating the system100. In some embodiments, the method 120 includes operations 122, 124,126, 128, 130, and 132. In other embodiments, the method 120 includesonly some of the operations or one or more additional operations. Theoperations 122, 124, 126, 128, 130, and 132 can be performed indifferent orders in other embodiments.

At operation 122, a wireless connection is established between thecooking appliance 102 and the user computing device 106 via the wirelessnetwork 112. In some embodiments, when the cooking appliance 102 isturned on and the appliance control application 108 begins to run on theuser computing device 106, the cooking appliance 102 and the usercomputing device 106 are paired up to establish a wireless connectionthrough the wireless router 110. An example method of establishing awireless connection is illustrated and described in more detail withreference to FIG. 30.

At operation 124, the cooking appliance 102 (e.g., the appliance controldevice 104) receives cooking configuration data from the user computingdevice 106. The cooking configuration data include various cookingcharacteristics for cooking a particular food item. Examples of cookingcharacteristics include a cooking temperature. In some embodiments, acooking temperature indicates a temperature to which a particular fooditem needs to be heated to reach so that a cooking of the food item isconsidered to be complete. In other embodiments, a cooking temperatureis defined at a temperature at which a particular food item needs to becooked.

As described below, the cooking configuration data are entered by theuser (U) through the user computing device 106 executing the appliancecontrol application 108.

At operation 126, the system 100 prompts the user (U) to place the fooditem in the cooking appliance 102 for cooking. In some embodiments, theappliance control application 108 is configured to alert the user (U)when the cooking appliance 102 is ready to receive the food item forsubsequent cooking operations. In other embodiments, the cookingappliance 102 is configured to directly alert the user (U) withoutcommunicating through the user computing device 106. The alert can be ofvarious types, including visual and/or audible notifications.

At operation 128, the appliance control device 104 controls the cookingappliance 102 to heat the food item based upon the received cookingconfiguration data. For example, the cooking appliance 102 is operatedto heat the food item until a temperature of the food time has reachedthe predetermined cooking temperature.

At operation 130, the system 100 verifies that the cooking configurationhas been satisfied. In some embodiments, the appliance controlapplication 108 receives information about the food item in the cookingappliance 102 and determines whether the food item has been cooked tomeet the cooking configurations received from the user (U). For example,the appliance control application 108 determines whether the food itemhas been cooked to meet the cooking configurations (e.g., thepredetermined cooking temperature) received from the user (U). In otherembodiments, the appliance control device 104 performs the determinationand sends a result to the user computing device 106 so that theappliance control application 108 use the result for various purposes,such as to alert the user (U) to the end of cooking, as described inoperation 132.

If the cooking configuration is verified to have been met (“YES” at theoperation 130), the method 120 moves on to the operation 132. Otherwise(“NO” at the operation 130), the method 120 returns to the operation128.

At the operation 132, the system 100 is configured to alter the user (U)that the cooking of the food time has ended. In some embodiments, theappliance control application 108 is configured to provide the alert tothe user (U). In other embodiments, the cooking appliance 102 isconfigured to directly alert the user (U) without communicating throughthe user computing device 106. The alert can be of various types,including visual and/or audible notifications.

Referring to FIGS. 3-27, an example cooking appliance 102 is illustratedand described in detail. In the illustrated example, the cookingappliance 102 is a tabletop grill. As described above, other embodimentsof the cooking appliance 102 are also possible.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an example cooking appliance 102 in afirst position. In some embodiments, the cooking appliance 102 includesa bottom assembly 202 and a top assembly 204. The bottom and topassemblies 202 and 204 are coupled by a hinge assembly 206.

The bottom assembly 202 is configured as a base portion of the cookingappliance 102. An example bottom assembly 202 is described andillustrated with reference to FIGS. 5-17.

The top assembly 204 is configured as a top portion of the cookingappliance 102. An example top assembly 204 is described and illustratedwith reference to FIGS. 18-23.

The hinge assembly 206 is used to pivotally connect the bottom and topassemblies 202 and 204. The hinge assembly 206 is configured to enablethe top assembly 204 to pivot relative to the bottom assembly 202 andselectively remain in a position that orients the top assembly 204 atvarious angular positions relative to the bottom assembly 202. In someembodiments, the hinge assembly 206 includes various types of lockingmechanisms configured to selectively lock a position of the top assembly204 relative to the bottom assembly 202 as desired. An example hingeassembly 206 is described and illustrated with reference to FIGS. 25-26.

As illustrated, when the cooking appliance 102 is in the first position,the top assembly 204 is closed and arranged at about zero degreerelative to the bottom assembly 202.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the cooking appliance 102 of FIG. 3 in asecond position. When the cooking appliance 102 is in the secondposition, the top assembly 204 is opened and maintained at variousangles relative to the bottom assembly 202. In the illustrated example,the top assembly 204 is oriented at about 90 degree relative to thebottom assembly 202. In other embodiments, the hinge assembly 206 isconfigured to enable the top assembly 204 to pivot relative to thebottom assembly 202 and maintain the top assembly 204 at other desiredorientations, which ranges, for example, from zero to 180 degrees,relative to the bottom assembly 202.

In other embodiments, the hinge assembly 206 is configured to enable thetop assembly 204 to floatingly pivot relative to the bottom assembly 202within a predetermined distance. In this configuration, when a thickerfood item is placed on the bottom assembly 202 (e.g., a bottom cookingplate 212 (FIG. 5)) and the top assembly 204 is hinged toward the bottomassembly 202 to close the cooking appliance 102, the floatable hingeassembly 206 permits the top assembly 204 to rise within thepredetermined distance in order to accommodate the thinker food itembetween the bottom and top assembly 202 and 204. For example, thefloatable hinge assembly 206 can be used for cooking a panini-typegrilled sandwich. Accordingly, the cooking appliance 102 can facilitatepivoting the top assembly 204 relative to the bottom assembly 202 withina wider range of motion, as well as accommodating thicker food items(e.g., thicker cuts of meat or thicker sandwiches) between the bottomand top assemblies 202 and 204 (e.g., bottom and top cooking plates 212and 380 (FIGS. 5 and 22)).

As set forth above, the illustrated cooking appliance 102 is configuredas a horizontal grill (i.e., a device configured to heat a food itemwith the cooking plates oriented substantially parallel to a countertopor other suitable support surface). However, it is contemplated that thecooking appliance 102 can be a vertical grill in other embodiments(i.e., a device configured to heat a food item with the cooking platesoriented substantially perpendicular to the countertop or other suitablesupport surface). Alternatively, the cooking appliance 102 can have onlyone cooking plate (e.g., only the bottom cooking plate 212 with no topcooking plate 380), or the cooking appliance 102 can be configured toheat a food item with at least one of the cooking plates 212 and 380oriented in any suitable manner.

Referring to FIGS. 5-17, an example bottom assembly 202 is illustratedand described in more detail.

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the bottom assembly 202. In someembodiments, the bottom assembly 202 includes a bottom heatingsubassembly 210, a bottom cooking plate 212, a grease tray 214, and atemperature probe assembly 218. Also shown are a tray receptacle 216 anda probe storage 220 that are provided to the heating subassembly 210.

The bottom heating subassembly 210 is configured to secure the bottomcooking plate 212 thereon and operates to heat the cooking plate 212.The bottom heating subassembly 210 has a forward end 226, a rearward end228, a right side 230, and a left side 232. An example heatingsubassembly 210 is illustrated and described in more detail withreference to FIGS. 6-8.

The bottom cooking plate 212 is detachably mounted to the bottom heatingsubassembly 210 and configured to receive food items thereon forcooking. An example bottom cooking plate 212 is illustrated anddescribed in more detail with reference to FIGS. 9-14. Although thecooking appliance 102 is described herein to include one bottom cookingplate 212, other embodiments of the cooking appliance 102 can include aplurality of top cooking plate 212 of the same or different kinds.

The grease tray 214 is configured and arranged to collect greasedripping from the bottom cooking plate 212. In some embodiments, thegrease tray 214 is removably secured to the bottom heating subassembly210 adjacent a forward end 292 (FIG. 9) of the bottom cooking plate 212.For example, the grease tray 214 is at least partially inserted into,and secured at, the tray receptacle 216 defined at the forward end 226of the bottom heating subassembly 210 so as to be arranged at theforward end 292 of the bottom cooking plate 212. As described below, thebottom cooking plate 212 is configured and arranged to define a slopethat is lower at its forward end 292 so that any liquid substances, suchas grease or water, flow toward the forward end 292 of the bottomcooking plate 212, drip from the forward end 292 of the bottom cookingplate 212, and are collected at the grease tray 214.

In some embodiments, the grease tray 214 has one or more guide tabs 222that slide over support guides 224 formed at the tray receptacle 216.

The tray receptacle 216 is defined at the forward end 226 of the bottomheating subassembly 210 and configured to removably receive the greasetray 214 therein. In some embodiments, the tray receptacle 216 includesone or more support guides 224 configured to hold the guide tabs 222 ofthe grease tray 214, respectively, as the grease tray 214 is insertedinto the tray receptacle 216.

The temperature probe assembly 218 is configured to measure atemperature of a food item heated by the cooking appliance 102. In someembodiments, the temperature probe assembly 218 includes a probe body240, a temperature probe 242, a connector 244, and a cord 246.

The probe body 240 is configured to mount the temperature probe 242 andprovides a handle for a user to manipulate the temperature probeassembly 218. In some embodiments, the probe body 240 includes a cordmanagement portion 248 around which the cord 246 is at least partiallywrapped. In the illustrated example, the cord management portion 248 isa channel formed around the probe body 240, and a least a portion of thecord 246 is received within the channel and wrapped around the probebody 240. The cord management portion 248 can be used in variouspurposes, such as to adjust a length of the cord 246 that extends fromthe probe body 240 and to store the cord 246 when the temperature probeassembly 218 is not in use.

The temperature probe 242 is a probe that will measure an internaltemperature of a food item while cooking. In some embodiments, thetemperature probe 242 is a metal probe with a sharp point which isinserted into a food item.

The connector 244 is configured to connect the temperature probe 242 toanother electric device. In some embodiments, the connector 244 isconfigured as a phone connector (also referred to as a phone plug orphone jack) that is inserted into a socket 250 of the bottom heatingsubassembly 210 so that the temperature probe 242 is electricallyconnected to the appliance control device 104. Other configurations ofthe connector 244 are possible.

In other embodiments, the connector 244 is configured to be insertedinto a socket of a computing device, such as a mobile computing device,to monitor a temperature of a food item through the computing deviceindependently from the cooking appliance 102. For example, thetemperature probe assembly 218 is electrically connected to the usercomputing device 106 by plugging the connector 244 into one of plugsockets provided in the user computing device 106, and the user (U) canmonitor a temperature of a food item through the user computing device106 (e.g., through a mobile application, such as the appliance controlapplication 108, running on the user computing device 106).

In yet other embodiments, the temperature probe assembly 218 isconfigured to wirelessly operate without the cord 246. In thisconfiguration, the temperature probe assembly 218 incorporates awireless communication module to communicate with the cooking appliance102 and/or the user computing device 106. In some embodiments, thetemperature probe assembly 218 can be operated by a rechargeable batteryincluded therein, and the cooking appliance 102 can include a dockingstation configured to receive the temperature probe assembly 218 andrecharge the battery of the temperature probe assembly 218.

In yet other embodiments, the cooking appliance 102 can operate withoutusing the temperature probe assembly 218, and employ other possibletechnologies to monitor a temperature of a food item.

With continued reference to FIG. 5, the bottom heating appliance 210includes a probe storage 220 configured to receive and store thetemperature probe assembly 218 when not in use. In some embodiments, theprobe storage 220 provides a receptacle configured to receive the probebody 240 of the temperature probe assembly 218. In the illustratedexample, the probe storage 220 is formed on the right side 230 of thebottom heating subassembly 210 (see also FIG. 16). In some embodiments,the temperature probe assembly 218 is configured to operate to sense atemperature even when it is stored in the probe storage 220.

Referring to FIGS. 6-8, an example bottom heating subassembly 210 isillustrated and described in more detail.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the bottom heating subassembly 210,illustrating some components of the bottom heating subassembly 210. Insome embodiments, the bottom heating subassembly 210 includes a bottomhousing 260, a power supply module 262, a cooking plate holdingmechanism 264, a temperature sensing device 266, a weight 268, and abottom hinge portion 270.

The bottom housing 260 functions as a base frame for the bottom heatingsubassembly 210. The bottom housing 260 defines a cavity 271 forreceiving components of the bottom heating subassembly 210.

The power supply module 262 operates to supply power to variouscomponents of the cooking appliance 102, such as the appliance controldevice 104 and a heating element 288 (FIG. 8). In some embodiments, thepower supply module 262 employs a transformer and/or a rectifier toconvert an input voltage (e.g., AC mains) to an output voltage (e.g., DCvoltage) suitable for electric components of the cooking appliance 102.

The cooking plate holding mechanism 264 is configured to removablysecure the cooking plate 212 to the bottom heating subassembly 210. Insome embodiments, the cooking plate holding mechanism 264 includes oneor more first hooks 272 and one or more second hooks 274. In someembodiments, the first and second hooks 272 and 274 are arranged at theperipheral edges of the bottom housing 260 and spaced apart at desireddistances to hold the cooking plate 212 by snapping or clamping theedges of the cooking plate 212. The first hooks 272 can be configured tooperate by spring force while the second hooks 274 can be fixed to thebottom housing 260. As shown in FIG. 7, the first hooks 272 are actuatedby a push button 276 to release the cooking plate 212 from the bottomhousing 260.

The temperature sensing device 266 is configured to detect a temperatureof the cooking plate 212. In some embodiments, the temperature sensingdevice 266 is configured as a thermostat assembly. In this example, thetemperature sensing device 266 is described primarily as the thermostatassembly 266. In other embodiments, however, the temperature sensingdevice 266 uses different sensing technologies. The thermostat assembly266 is configured to contact a lower surface of the cooking plate 212when the cooking plate 212 is mounted to the bottom heating subassembly210. The thermostat assembly 266 is configured to be provided electricalpower from the power supply module 262.

In some embodiments, the thermostat assembly 266 includes a thermostathousing 280, a sensing member 282, and a spring 284. The thermostathousing 280 fixed on a bottom surface of the bottom housing 260 andconfigured to movably support the sensing member 282. The sensing member282 is slideably inserted into a through-hole defined in the thermostathousing 280 and supported by the spring 284 against the bottom surfaceof the bottom housing 260. The sensing member 282 is biased away fromthe bottom surface of the bottom housing 260 by the spring 284. Thesensing member 282 is configured to contact the lower surface of thecooking plate 212 and depressed when the cooking plate 212 is mountedonto the bottom housing 260. In some embodiments, the thermostatassembly 266 is configured to operate only when the cooking plate 212 isassembled to the bottom housing 260 to depress the sensing member 282.In other embodiments, the cooking appliance 102 is configured to turn ononly when the cooking plate 212 is assembled to the bottom housing 260to depress the sensing member 282.

Although the cooking appliance 102 is described herein to include onetemperature sensing assembly 266, other embodiments of the cookingappliance 102 can include a plurality of temperature sensing assemblies266 or the like.

The weight 268 is used to provide an extra weight to the bottom assembly202 so that the cooking appliance 102 does not tip over when the topassembly 204 is open relative to the bottom assembly 202. In someembodiments, the weight 268 is arranged at or adjacent the forward end226 of the bottom heating subassembly 210. The weight 268 can be removedas necessary.

The bottom hinge portion 270 is a lower portion of the hinge assembly206 configured to pivotally coupled to a top hinge portion 340 (FIG. 18)of the top assembly 204.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the bottom heating subassembly 210,illustrating a heat insulation panel 286. The heat insulation panel 286is used to insulate the components of the bottom heating subassembly 210from heat generated from a heating element 288 (FIG. 8) and the cookingplate 212. In some embodiments, the heat insulation panel 286 isreceived in the cavity 271 of the bottom housing 260 and disposedbetween the bottom housing 260 and a bottom reflecting plate 287 (FIG.8).

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the bottom heating subassembly 210,illustrating a bottom reflecting plate 287 and a heating element 288.

The bottom reflecting plate 287 is received above the heat insulationpanel 286 within the cavity 271 of the bottom housing 260. The bottomreflecting plate 287 is configured to be shallow and has a substantiallyflat bottom segment and oblique side segments such that heat radiateddownward or sideways from the heating element 288 is reflected towardthe underside of the cooking plate 212 in a more evenly distributedmanner, thereby facilitating optimized heating of the cooking plate 212.

The heating element 288 is disposed above the bottom reflecting plate287 within the cavity 271 of the bottom housing 260 and beneath thecooking plate 212 such that the heating element 288 is disposedtherebetween. The heating element 288 is configured to be providedelectrical power from the power supply module 262. Although the cookingappliance 102 is described herein to include one heating element 288,other embodiments of the cooking appliance 102 can include a pluralityof heating elements 288 or the like.

Referring to FIGS. 9-14, various examples of the bottom cooking plate212 are illustrated and described.

FIG. 9 is an example bottom cooking plate 212. In this example, thebottom cooking plate 212 is configured as a grill plate. In someembodiments, the bottom cooking plate 212 includes a food contactsurface 290 extending between a forward end 292 and a rearward end 294,a grease dripping surface 296, a plurality of ribs 298, and a platemounting mechanism 300.

The food contact surface 290 provides a surface on which a food item isplaced for cooking. In some embodiments, the bottom cooking plate 212 isarranged and configured such that the food contact surface 290 slopesdown from the rearward end 294 to the forward end 292 when the bottomcooking plate 212 is mounted on the bottom heating subassembly 210. Theslope of the food contact surface 290 can be determined such that liquidsubstances, such as grease and water, extracted from a food itemefficiently flow toward the forward end 292 of the bottom cooking plate212, thereby dripping from the bottom cooking plate 212 into the greasetray 214. In some embodiments, the slope of the food contact surface 290is determined such that about 42% of fat is removed from ground chuck.In other embodiments, other configurations are possible.

In some embodiments, the slope of the food contact surface 290 is formedat an angle between about 5 and 15 degrees relative to a supportingsurface (e.g., a countertop or cooking surface) on which the cookingappliance lies. In other embodiments, the angle of the food contactsurface 290 relative to the supporting surface is about 8 degrees.

In some embodiments, the slope of the food contact surface 290 is formedby an orientation of the bottom cooking plate 212 relative to the bottomhousing 260 while the bottom housing 260 stands in parallel with thesupporting surface. In other embodiments, the slope of the food contactsurface 290 is formed when the bottom housing 260 is configured to lieon the supporting surface at a predetermined angle. In yet otherembodiments, the bottom cooking plate 212 is made to incorporate such aslope of the food contact surface 290 when the bottom cooking plate 212is mounted to the bottom housing 260 in parallel and the bottom housing260 stands in parallel with the supporting surface. In yet otherembodiments, the slope of the food contact surface 290 is formed by anycombination of the configurations described above.

The grease dripping surface 296 is formed at the forward end 292 of thebottom cooking plate 212. The grease dripping surface 296 extends fromthe food contact surface 290 toward the grease tray 214, which is placedunder the grease dripping surface 296 at the forward end 226 of thebottom heating subassembly 210. The grease dripping surface 296 isconfigured to effectively guide the liquid substances flowing from thefood contact surface 290 into the grease tray 214.

The plurality of ribs 298 are provided on the food contact surface 290to improve cooking of a food item thereon.

The plate mounting mechanism 300 operates to mount the bottom cookingplate 212 onto the bottom housing 260. The plate mounting mechanism 300is configured to cooperate with the cooking plate holding mechanism 264of the bottom heating subassembly 210. In some embodiments, the platemounting mechanism 300 includes one or more first shoulders 302 and oneor more second shoulders 304. The first shoulders 302 are configured toengage the first hooks 272 of the cooking plate holding mechanism 264,and the second shoulders 304 are configured to engage the second hooks274 of the cooking plate holding mechanism 262.

As described above, the cooking plate 212 is detachable from the bottomheating subassembly 210 for various purposes, such as cleaning. In someembodiments, the cooking plate 212 can have various configurations onthe food contact surface 290 for different types of cooking. Varioustypes of cooking plate 212 are interchangeably mounted on the bottomheating subassembly 210 for different types of cooking. Some examples ofother embodiments of the cooking plate 212 are illustrated in FIGS.10-14.

FIG. 10 illustrates that the cooking plate 212 is configured as a waffleplate. In this example, the food contact surface 290 is configured toshape a waffle.

FIG. 11 illustrates that the cooking plate 212 is configured as a bakeplate. In this example, the food contact surface 290 provides a bakedish.

FIG. 12 illustrates that the cooking plate 212 is configured as a muffinpan. In this example, the food contact surface 290 provides a pluralityof bowl-type spaces to bake muffins.

FIG. 13 illustrates that the cooking plate 212 is configured as agriddle plate. In this example, the food contact surface 290 provides aflat surface for cooking various food items.

FIG. 14 illustrates that the cooking plate 212 is configured as anomelet plate. In this example, the food contact surface 290 provides aplurality of dish-type spaces for cooking omelets.

Although not specifically illustrated in FIGS. 10-14, the components asdescribed in FIG. 9 are applicable to the cooking plate 212 in FIGS.10-14. In addition to the configurations as illustrated in FIGS. 9-14,the cooking plate 212 can have other configurations for different typesof cooking, such as a meatball plate, a steam plate, a wok plate, and amulti-cooker plate.

The cooking plate 212 can be made of various materials. Examples of suchmaterials include aluminum, cast iron, stainless steel, and any othermaterials suitable for providing cooking surfaces.

FIG. 15 is a bottom perspective view of the bottom heating subassembly210. In some embodiments, the bottom heating subassembly 210 includes apivotable stand 310. The pivotable stand 310 is pivotably connected atpivot points 312 adjacent the rearward end 228 of the bottom heatingsubassembly 210. The pivotable stand 310 is configured for selectivelyelevating the back of the bottom assembly 202 to increase the angle ofthe bottom cooking plate 212 relative to the a supporting surface (e.g.,a cooking table). By elevating the back of the bottom assembly 202,liquid substances (e.g., grease) can be more effectively drained fromthe bottom cooking plate 212 into the grease tray 214 while heating afood item.

FIG. 16 illustrates that the pivotable stand 310 is flipped over in apivoting direction (R) to elevate the back of the bottom heatingsubassembly 210.

In some embodiments, the slope of the food contact surface 290, asdescribed with reference to FIG. 9, ranges between about 5 and 15degrees relative to the supporting surface (e.g., a countertop orcooking surface) when the bottom assembly 202 is elevated at the back bythe pivotable stand 310. In other embodiments, the slope of the foodcontact surface 290 is formed at about 8 degrees relative to thesupporting surface when the bottom assembly 202 lies on the supportingsurface with the pivotable stand 310 flipped out.

FIG. 17 illustrates another example of the pivotable stand 310. In thisexample, the pivotable stand 310 includes a cord management portion 314.The cord management portion 314 is used to manage at least a portion ofa cord, such as a power cord 318 extending out from the power supplymodule 262. In some embodiments, the cord management portion 314includes one or more notches 316 defined by the pivotable stand 310. Atleast a portion of a cord (e.g., the power cord 318) can be containedwithin the notches 316 and wrapped around the pivotable stand 310.

Referring to FIGS. 18-23, an example top assembly 204 is illustrated anddescribed in more detail.

FIG. 18 is a top perspective view of the top assembly 204, illustratingan upper portion of the top assembly 204. In some embodiments, the topassembly 204 includes a top housing 320, a housing cover 322, a controlpanel 324, and a handle 326.

The top housing 320 functions as a frame for the top assembly 204. Thetop housing 320 defines a cavity 364 (FIG. 20) for receiving componentsof the top assembly 204.

The housing cover 322 is configured to cover the top housing 320 toprotect the components received within the top assembly 204 and provideaesthetic appearance. In some embodiments, the housing cover 322functions as replaceable skins. For example, the housing cover 322 isremovably attached to the top housing 320 and replaceable by otherhousing covers 322 with different designs.

The control panel 324 is configured to receive a user input foroperating the cooking appliance 102. In some embodiments, the controlpanel 324 is also configured to display various pieces of information.The control panel 324 is electrically connected to the appliance controldevice 104.

In some embodiments, the control panel 324 includes one or more inputbuttons 330 for receive user inputs, a display screen 332 for displayinginformation, and a wireless communication panel 334.

In the illustrated example, the control panel 324 provides four inputbuttons including first, second, third, and fourth button 330A-330D. Forexample, the first button 330A is configured to manually turn on and offthe cooking appliance 102. The second button 330B is configured tomanually increase a temperature of the cooking plate 212. The thirdbutton 330C is configured to manually decrease a temperature of thecooking plate 212. The fourth button 330D is configured to manuallyselect a monitoring mode. For example, the fourth button 330D can enablea user to choose either a temperature of the cooking plate 212 or atemperature of the temperature probe assembly 218 to be shown on thedisplay screen 332. In other embodiments, the control panel 324 caninclude more or less than four input buttons 330. Other embodiments ofthe input buttons 330 are configured to receive different user inputsthan illustrated herein.

The display screen 332 is configured to show various pieces ofinformation, such as user inputs entered through the input buttons 330and data associated with the cooking appliance 102. For example, thedisplay screen 332 is configured to display a temperature of either thecooking plate 212 (and/or the cooking plate 380) or the temperatureprobe assembly 218, and an operating status of the cooking appliance 102(e.g., power on/off). The display screen 332 can be configured todigitally display such information thereon.

As described herein, the control panel 324 can be configured to receiveonly a few inputs directly from a user and display only fundamentalinformation (e.g., a temperature) because the user computing device 106is primarily used to control the cooking appliance 102. As a result, thecontrol panel 324 can provide a simple design and manual usermanipulation.

In some embodiments, the control panel 324 is configured as a touchsensitive screen. The control panel 324 can include an insulative panelcoated with a transparent conductor. As the human body is an electricalconductor, touching the surface of the control panel 324 results in adistortion of the electrostatic field of the control panel 324, which ismeasurable as a change in capacitance. In some embodiments, theinsulative panel is made of flat glass. In other embodiments, theinsulative panel is made of thermoplastic polymers, such aspolycarbonate. As thermoplastic polymers (e.g., polycarbonate) areflexible, the control panel 324 can be configured to provide a curvedsurface.

In some embodiments, the input buttons 330 (such as 330A-330D) can beconfigured as touch sensitive buttons (e.g., tactile buttons)incorporated in the touch sensitive control panel 324. In otherembodiments, spring elements 348 (FIG. 19) can be placed under the inputbuttons 330 on the control panel 324 to provide a physical feedback to auser when the input buttons 330 are depressed. The spring elements 348provide spring force acting against a user's force depressing thebuttons 330 on the control panel 324. An example of the spring elements348 is illustrated in FIG. 19.

The wireless communication panel 334 is configured to provideinformation about a statue of a wireless communication between thecooking appliance 102 and the user computing device 106. The wirelesscommunication panel 334 provides the status information in variousmanners. In some embodiments, the wireless communication panel 334includes one or more status indicators, such as icons or symbols (e.g.,a dot with curved lines radiating from the dot), to indicate status ofwireless connection. In other embodiments, different color schemesand/or different operation thereof can be used to indicate differentstatus of wireless connection. For example, a predetermined icondisplayed on the wireless communication panel 334 can change its colorfor different status (e.g., green for stable connection and orange forunstable connection). Further, such an icon displayed on the wirelesscommunication panel 334 can either flash or remain sold depending on aconnection status.

In some embodiments, the wireless communication panel 334 includes anindication belt 336 around the wireless communication panel 334 toinform a status of wireless connection. The indicating belt 336 caninclude one or more lighting elements that selectively turn on toindicate that a wireless connection has been established. In otherembodiments, the indication belt 336 can be used in other situations.For example, the indication belt 336 can be configured to turn on whenthe cooking appliance 102 turns on.

With continued reference to FIG. 18, the handle 326 is configured toenable a user to open and close the top assembly 204 relative to thebottom assembly 202. In some embodiments, the handle 326 includes a tophinge portion 340, opposing side handle portions 342, a forward handleportion 344, and a cover hinge assembly 346.

The top hinge portion 340 is an upper portion of the hinge assembly 206.The top hinge portion 340 is pivotally coupled with the bottom hingeportion 270. In some embodiments, the top hinge portion 340 and thebottom hinge portion 270 are coupled together with fasteners, such asscrews.

The side handle portions 342 extends between the top hinge portion 340and the forward handle portion 344 along the sides of the top housing320. The side handle portions 342 are pivotally connected to the tophousing 320 at the cover hinge assembly 346 such that the top housing320 are at least partially rotatable relative to the handle 326.

The forward handle portion 344 extends between the opposing side handleportions 342 and transverses a forward end 345 of the top housing 320.The forward handle portion 344 provides a grip for a user so that theuser opens or closes the top assembly 204 relative to the bottomassembly 202.

The cover hinge assembly 346 pivotally couples the side handle portions342 to the top housing 320 so that the top assembly 204 pivots relativeto the handle 326. As described above, the top hinge portion 340 of thehandle 326 is pivotally coupled to the bottom hinge portion 270 of thehinge assembly 206. As such, the cover hinge assembly 346 and/or thehinge assembly 206 enable the top assembly 204 to floatingly pivotrelative to the bottom assembly 202 within a predetermined distance, sothat, when a thicker food item is placed on the bottom assembly 202, thecover hinge assembly 346 and/or the hinge assembly 206 permit the topassembly 204 to rise within the predetermined distance in order toaccommodate the thinker food item between the bottom and top assembly202 and 204.

FIG. 19 is a top perspective view of the top assembly 204 with thehousing cover 322 and the control panel 324 removed. In someembodiments, the appliance control device 104 (including a wirelesscommunication device as described in FIG. 27) is disposed under thecontrol panel 324 within the top housing 320. The control device 104 caneffectively avoid heat generated at the bottom assembly 202 by arrangingthe control device 104 in the top assembly 204. In other embodiments,the control device 104 can be disposed in the bottom assembly 202. Anexample of the control device 104 is illustrated and described in moredetail with reference to FIG. 27.

In some embodiments, the top assembly 204 includes spring elements 348that are placed under the input buttons 330 on the control panel 324 toprovide a physical feedback to a user when the input buttons 330 aredepressed. The spring elements 348 provide spring force acting against auser's force depressing the buttons 330 on the control panel 324.

In some embodiments, the top assembly 204 includes a heat insulationstructure 350 arranged within the top housing 320 at a rearward end 347of the top assembly 204. The heat insulation structure 350 is used toreduce heat transfer from a top heating element 376 (FIG. 21) and a topcooking plate 380 (FIG. 22) and protect components of the top assembly204 (including the appliance control device 104) from the heat.

Referring to FIGS. 20-22, an example top assembly 204 is illustrated anddescribed in more detail.

FIG. 20 is a perspective view of the top assembly 204, illustrating somecomponents thereof. In some embodiments, the top assembly 204 includes atop cooking plate holding mechanism 360 and a top heat insulation panel362 within a cavity 364 defined by the top housing 320.

The top cooking plate holding mechanism 360 is configured to removablysecure a top cooking plate 380 (FIG. 22) to the top housing 320. In someembodiments, the top cooking plate holding mechanism 360 includes one ormore first hooks 366 and one or more second hooks 368. In someembodiments, the first and second hooks 366 and 368 are arranged at theperipheral edges of the top housing 320 and spaced apart at desireddistances to hold a top cooking plate 380 by snapping or clamping theedges of the top cooking plate 380. The first hooks 366 can beconfigured to operate by spring force while the second hooks 368 can befixed to the top housing 320. In some embodiments, the first hooks 366are actuated by a push button 370 to release the top cooking plate 380from the top housing 320.

The top heat insulation panel 362 is used to insulate the components ofthe top assembly 204 from heat generated from a heating element 376(FIG. 21) and a top cooking plate 380 (FIG. 22). In some embodiments,the top heating insulation panel 362 is received in the cavity 364 ofthe top housing 320 and disposed between the top housing 320 and a topreflecting plate 374 (FIG. 21). In particular, the top heatinginsulation panel 362 is disposed between the top heating element 376 andthe control panel 324 to protect the control panel 324 and the controldevice 104 therein from heat.

FIG. 21 is a perspective view of the top assembly 204, illustrating atop reflecting plate 374 and a heating element 376.

The top reflecting plate 374 is received above the top heat insulationpanel 362 within the cavity 364 of the top housing 320. The topreflecting plate 374 is configured to be shallow and has a substantiallyflat bottom segment and oblique side segments such that heat radiateddownward or sideways from the heating element 376 is reflected towardthe underside of a top cooking plate 380 (FIG. 22) in a more evenlydistributed manner, thereby facilitating optimized heating of the topcooking plate 380.

The heating element 376 is disposed above the top reflecting plate 374within the cavity 364 of the top housing 320 and beneath the top cookingplate 380 such that the heating element 376 is disposed therebetween.The heating element 376 is configured to be provided electrical powerfrom the power supply module 262. Although the cooking appliance 102 isdescribed herein to include one heating element 376, other embodimentsof the cooking appliance 102 can include a plurality of heating elements376 or the like.

FIG. 22 is a perspective view of the top assembly 204, illustrating anexample top cooking plate 380.

The top cooking plate 380 is detachably mounted to the top housing 320and configured to heat food items placed on the bottom cooking plate212. The top cooking plate 380 can be configured similarly to the bottomcooking plate 212. In some embodiments, the top cooking plate 380includes a heating surface 382 and a plate mounting mechanism 384.

The heating surface 382 provides a surface heated by the top heatingelement 376. In some embodiments, a food item placed on the bottomcooking plate 212 can contact the heating surface 382 as well as thefood contact surface 290 of the bottom cooking plate 212. In otherembodiments, the heating surface 382 of the top cooking plate 380 isarranged apart from the food item during cooking.

The plate mounting mechanism 384 operates to mount the top cooking plate380 onto the top housing 320. The plate mounting mechanism 384 isconfigured to cooperate with the top cooking plate holding mechanism 360of the top housing 320. In some embodiments, the plate mountingmechanism 384 includes one or more first shoulders 386 and one or moresecond shoulders 388. The first shoulders 386 are configured to engagethe first hooks 366 of the top cooking plate holding mechanism 360, andthe second shoulders 388 are configured to engage the second hooks 368of the top cooking plate holding mechanism 360.

As such, the top cooking plate 380 is detachable from the top housing320 for various purposes, such as cleaning. In some embodiments, the topcooking plate 380 can have various configurations on the heating surface382 for different types of cooking. Various types of cooking plate 380are interchangeably mounted on the top housing 320 for different typesof cooking. For example, the top cooking plate 380 can be configuredsimilarly to those as illustrated in FIGS. 10-14.

In some embodiments, the top cooking plate 380 is configured similarlyto the bottom cooking plate 212. For example, when the bottom cookingplate 212 includes the plurality of ribs 298, the heating surface 382 ofthe top cooking plate 380 can include a plurality of ribs 390corresponding to the ribs 298. In other embodiments, the top cookingplate 380 and the bottom cooking plate 212 are configured differently.

In some embodiments, the top assembly 204 is used without the topcooking plate 380 while the bottom assembly 202 is used with the bottomcooking plate 212. For example, it can be desirable to remove the topcooking plate 380 from the top housing 320 to perform a broilingfunction using the cooking appliance 102.

Although the cooking appliance 102 is described herein to include onetop cooking plate 380, other embodiments of the cooking appliance 102can include a plurality of top cooking plate 380 of the same ordifferent kinds.

FIG. 23 illustrates another example of the top heating element 376 ofthe top assembly 204. In this example, the top heating element 376 isconfigured as a quartz-type heating element including a quartz-typeheating tube 391 and a guard 393 surrounding the heating tube 391. Theheating tube 391 includes a filament extending therethrough andconnected to electrical leads at both ends. As the filament is energizedby passing current therethrough via the electrical leads, infraredenergy is emitted from the filament toward a food item placed on thebottom cooking plate 212 of the bottom assembly 202.

The quartz-type heating element 376 of this example can be used eitherwith or without the top cooking plate 380 attached to the top assembly204. In some embodiments, the top assembly 204 uses the quartz-typeheating element 376 without the top cooking plate 380 for broiling. Insome embodiments, the appliance control device 104 can adjust a level ofoperating the heating element 376 depending on different cooking (e.g.,broiling) options. For example, the heating element 376 can beselectively operated to be turned off, half-heated, or fully-heated.Such different operations of the heating element 376 can be selected bya user through the appliance control application 108 running on the usercomputing device 106, as illustrated below.

In other embodiments, the heating element 376 can be of any suitabletype, such as a halogen-type heating element.

FIG. 24 illustrates the cooking appliance 102 in a vertical position.The cooking appliance 102 is configured to stand vertically alone whenthe cooking appliance 102 is in the closed position.

As illustrated, the cooking appliance 102 has two points 395 and 397that contact a reference surface Sr when the cooking appliance 102stands vertically against the reference surface Sr. In some embodiments,a first contact point 395 can be defined by a rearward foot 399 of thebottom housing 260 as the rearward foot 399 of the bottom housing 260lies on the reference surface Sr. A second contact point 397 can bedefined by the hinge assembly 206 and/or the bottom hinge portion 270(e.g., a leg portion thereof) of the bottom housing 260 as the bottomhousing 260 lies on the reference surface Sr. The cooking appliance 102is configured such that a center of gravity CG of the cooking applianceis positioned between a first line L1 and a second line L2. The firstline L1 is a line extending vertically to the reference surface Sr andpassing the first contact point 395, and the first line L2 is a lineextending vertically to the reference surface Sr and passing the secondcontact point 397.

Referring to FIGS. 25 and 26, another example of the hinge assembly 206is illustrated and described. In particular, FIG. 25 is a top view ofanother example hinge assembly 206, and FIG. 26 is a side view of thehinge assembly 206 of FIG. 25.

In this example, the hinge assembly 206 is configured to containelectrical cords wired between the top and bottom assemblies 202 and204. For example, electrical cords connected between the power supplymodule 262 and the top heating element 376 and/or the control device 104can be placed within the hinge assembly 206 and thus invisible from theoutside of the cooking appliance 102.

In some embodiments, the hinge assembly 206 includes a bottom-side hingechannel 392, a pair of top-side hinge legs 394, and a top-side hinge bar396.

The bottom-side hinge channel 392 is formed in the bottom housing 260and configured to receive the top-side hinge bar 396. The bottom-sidehinge channel 392 can also receive a slack of electrical cords extendingfrom the power supply module 262.

The pair of top-side hinge legs 394 extends from the top housing 320 anddefines a through-hole therein for receiving one or more electricalcords wired from the power supply module 262.

The top-side hinge bar 396 transversely extends between the pair oftop-side hinge legs 394 and can be at least partially received withinthe bottom-side hinge channel 392. The top-side hinge bar 396 can pivotwithin the bottom-side hinge channel 392 as the top assembly 204 movesrelative to the bottom assembly 202 between the closed and openpositions. The top-side hinge bar 396 defines an elongate holetherewithin and in communication with the through-holes of the top-sidehinge legs 394 for receiving the electrical cords. Further, the top-sidehinge bar 396 can include an opening in communication with the elongatehole therein and the bottom-side hinge channel 392. Electrical cordsextending from the power supply module 262 can enter elongate hole ofthe top-side hinge bar 396 through the opening thereof.

In the illustrated example of FIGS. 25 and 26, the hinge assembly 206 isconfigured for contact grill types. In other embodiments, theconfigurations of this example can apply to different types of hingeassemblies.

FIG. 27 illustrates example functional operations of the appliancecontrol device 104. In some embodiments, the appliance control device104 includes a user interface device 402, a heating element controldevice 404, a temperature probe control device 406, and a communicationdevice 408.

The user interface device 402 operates to control the control panel 324.In some embodiments, the user interface device 402 receives user inputsthrough the control panel 324 and displays various pieces of information(e.g., a temperature of the heating elements 288 and 376 and/or atemperature of the temperature probe assembly 218) on the control panel324.

The heating element control device 404 operates to manage and control atleast one of the heating elements 288 and 376. In some embodiments, theheating element control device 404 receives a temperature signalindicative of a temperature detected from the thermostat assembly 266and determines a temperature of at least one of the heating elements 288and 376 based upon the temperature signal. The heating element controldevice 404 can also receive user settings (e.g., cooking configurationdata) input from the control panel 324 of the cooking appliance 102and/or the user computing device 106. The heating element control device404 can use the temperature signal and/or the user settings forcontrolling the cooking appliance 102 (e.g., the heating elements 288and 376).

The temperature probe control device 406 operates to manage and controlthe temperature probe assembly 218. In some embodiments, the temperatureprobe control device 406 receives a temperature signal indicative of atemperature detected from the temperature probe assembly 218 anddetermines a temperature of the temperature probe assembly 218 basedupon the temperature signal. The temperature probe control device 406can use the temperature signal for controlling the cooking appliance(e.g., the heating elements 288 and 376).

The communication device 408 operates to communicate with the usercomputing device 106. In some embodiments, the communication device 408receives various data (e.g., cooking configuration data including targetcooking temperatures) from the user computing device 106, and transmitsvarious pieces of information about the cooking appliance 102 (e.g., acurrent temperature determined based upon the temperature signals fromthe temperature probe assembly 218 and/or the thermostat assembly 266)to the user computing device 106, which can then process the informationand display it to the user (U). One example of the communication device408 employs a Wi-Fi network module, such as GS2100M module availablefrom Gainspan Corporation (San Jose, Calif.). Other examples of thecommunication device 408 can use any other Wi-Fi modules or a group ofelectrical components that are designed to create a working certified oruncertified Wi-Fi module.

An example appliance control application 108 running on the usercomputing device 106 is illustrated and described more detail withreference to FIGS. 28-34.

FIG. 28 illustrates an example functional operation of the usercomputing device 106 executing the appliance control application 108. Insome embodiments, the appliance control application 108 is configured toperform a network configuration engine 420, an appliance control engine422, and a data management engine 424.

The network configuration engine 420 operates to establish a wirelessconnection between the cooking appliance 102 and the user computingdevice 106. An example operation of the network configuration engine 420is illustrated and described with reference to FIG. 30.

The appliance control engine 422 operates to receive data (e.g., cookingconfiguration data including target cooking temperatures) from a user(U) through the user computing device 106, and control the cookingappliance 102 based upon the received data. The appliance control engine422 also operates to receive data (e.g., a current temperaturedetermined based upon the temperature signals from the temperature probeassembly 218 and/or the thermostat assembly 266) from the appliancecontrol device 104 of the cooking appliance 102, and display thereceived data on the user computing device 106. An example operation ofthe appliance control engine 422 is illustrated and described withreference to FIGS. 31 and 32.

The data management engine 424 operates to manage data stored in theuser computing device 106. In some embodiments, the data managementengine 424 is configured to communicate a remote server computing devicevia a communications network to manage and update the data stored in theuser computing device 106. For example, such data managed by the datamanagement engine 424 include recipe information. The data managementengine 424 can retrieve recipe data from the remote server computingdevice and transmit them to the user computing device 106. The datamanagement engine 424 can also send data (e.g., customized recipe data)to the server computing device for storage or other types of management.

FIG. 29 illustrates an exemplary architecture of a computing device thatcan be used to implement aspects of the present disclosure, includingthe user computing device 106, and will be referred to herein as thecomputing device 500. The computing device 500 illustrated in FIG. 29 isused to execute the operating system, application programs, and softwaremodules (including the software engines) described herein.

The computing device 500 is a computing device of various types. In someembodiments, the computing device 500 is a mobile computing device.Examples of the computing device 500 as a mobile computing deviceinclude a mobile device (e.g., a smart phone and a tablet computer), awearable computer (e.g., a smartwatch and a head-mounted display), apersonal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld game console, a portablemedia player, a ultra-mobile PC, a digital still camera, a digital videocamera, and other mobile devices. In other embodiments, the computingdevice 500 is other computing devices, such as a desktop computer, alaptop computer, or other devices configured to process digitalinstructions.

It is recognized that the architecture illustrated in FIG. 29 can alsobe implemented in other computing devices used to achieve aspects of thepresent disclosure. For example, the appliance control device 104 can beconfigured to employ at least part of the architecture of FIG. 29. Toavoid undue repetition, this description of the computing device 500will not be separately repeated herein for each of the other computingdevices.

The computing device 500 includes, in some embodiments, at least oneprocessing device 502, such as a central processing unit (CPU). Avariety of processing devices are available from a variety ofmanufacturers, for example, Intel or Advanced Micro Devices. In thisexample, the computing device 500 also includes a system memory 504, anda system bus 506 that couples various system components including thesystem memory 504 to the processing device 502. The system bus 506 isone of any number of types of bus structures including a memory bus, ormemory controller; a peripheral bus; and a local bus using any of avariety of bus architectures.

The system memory 504 includes read only memory 508 and random accessmemory 510. A basic input/output system 512 containing the basicroutines that act to transfer information within the computing device500, such as during start up, is typically stored in the read onlymemory 508.

The computing device 500 also includes a secondary storage device 514 insome embodiments, such as a hard disk drive, for storing digital data.The secondary storage device 514 is connected to the system bus 506 by asecondary storage interface 516. The secondary storage devices and theirassociated computer readable media provide nonvolatile storage ofcomputer readable instructions (including application programs andprogram modules), data structures, and other data for the computingdevice 500.

Although the exemplary environment described herein employs a hard diskdrive as a secondary storage device, other types of computer readablestorage media are used in other embodiments. Examples of these othertypes of computer readable storage media include magnetic cassettes,flash memory cards, digital video disks, Bernoulli cartridges, compactdisc read only memories, digital versatile disk read only memories,random access memories, or read only memories. Some embodiments includenon-transitory media.

A number of program modules can be stored in secondary storage device514 or memory 504, including an operating system 518, one or moreapplication programs 520, other program modules 522, and program data524.

In some embodiments, the computing device 500 includes input devices toenable a user to provide inputs to the computing device 500. Examples ofinput devices 526 include a keyboard 528, a pointer input device 530, amicrophone 532, and a touch sensitive display 540. Other embodimentsinclude other input devices. The input devices are often connected tothe processing device 502 through an input/output interface 538 that iscoupled to the system bus 506. These input devices 526 can be connectedby any number of input/output interfaces, such as a parallel port,serial port, game port, or a universal serial bus. Wirelesscommunication between input devices and interface 538 is possible aswell, and includes infrared, BLUETOOTH® wireless technology,802.11a/b/g/n, cellular, or other radio frequency communication systemsin some possible embodiments.

In this example embodiment, a touch sensitive display device 540 is alsoconnected to the system bus 506 via an interface, such as a videoadapter 542. The touch sensitive display device 540 includes touchsensors for receiving input from a user when the user touches thedisplay. Such sensors can be capacitive sensors, pressure sensors, orother touch sensors. The sensors not only detect contact with thedisplay, but also the location of the contact and movement of thecontact over time. For example, a user can move a finger or stylusacross the screen to provide written inputs. The written inputs areevaluated and, in some embodiments, converted into text inputs.

In addition to the display device 540, the computing device 500 caninclude various other peripheral devices (not shown), such as speakersor a printer.

When used in a local area networking environment or a wide areanetworking environment (such as the Internet), the computing device 500is typically connected to the network through a network interface, suchas a wireless network interface 546. An example of a wireless networkinterface 546 is a Wi-Fi communication device (such as configured tocommunicate according to one of the IEEE 802.11 family of communicationprotocols) or a BLUETOOTH® communication device. Other possibleembodiments use other communication devices. For example, someembodiments of the computing device 500 include an Ethernet networkinterface, or a modem for communicating across the network.

The computing device 500 typically includes at least some form ofcomputer-readable media. Computer readable media includes any availablemedia that can be accessed by the computing device 500. By way ofexample, computer-readable media include computer readable storage mediaand computer readable communication media.

Computer readable storage media includes volatile and nonvolatile,removable and non-removable media implemented in any device configuredto store information such as computer readable instructions, datastructures, program modules or other data. Computer readable storagemedia includes, but is not limited to, random access memory, read onlymemory, electrically erasable programmable read only memory, flashmemory or other memory technology, compact disc read only memory,digital versatile disks or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes,magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices,or any other medium that can be used to store the desired informationand that can be accessed by the computing device 500. Computer readablestorage media does not include computer readable communication media.

Computer readable communication media typically embodies computerreadable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data ina modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transportmechanism and includes any information delivery media. The term“modulated data signal” refers to a signal that has one or more of itscharacteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode informationin the signal. By way of example, computer readable communication mediaincludes wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection,and wireless media such as acoustic, radio frequency, infrared, andother wireless media. Combinations of any of the above are also includedwithin the scope of computer readable media.

The computing device illustrated in FIG. 29 is also an example ofprogrammable electronics, which may include one or more such computingdevices, and when multiple computing devices are included, suchcomputing devices can be coupled together with a suitable datacommunication network so as to collectively perform the variousfunctions, methods, or operations disclosed herein.

FIG. 30 is a flowchart illustrating an example method 600 of operatingthe network configuration engine 420. In some embodiments, the method600 includes operations 602, 604, 606, 608, 610, 612, 614, 616, and 618.The method 600 includes operations that are performed by one or moreprocessors, such as the processing device 502 as illustrated in FIG. 29.In other embodiments, the method 600 includes only some of theoperations or one or more additional operations. The operations can beperformed in different orders in other embodiments.

In some embodiments, the method 600 is performed when a wirelessconnection is initially set up between the cooking appliance 102 and theuser computing device 106 via the wireless network 112. Once a wirelessconnection has been initially established via the router 110, the usercomputing device 106 can be connected to the cooking appliance 102 viathe router 110 without performing the method 600.

At the operation 602, the network configuration engine 420 receives aservice set identifier (SSID) from the cooking appliance 102. The SSIDmay be entered by a user of the user computing device 106.Alternatively, the SSID may be broadcast or otherwise transmitted to theuser computing device 106 by the cooking appliance 102. Although themethod 600 is described in terms of establishing a connection betweenthe cooking appliance 102 and the user computing device 106 using anSSID (e.g., for wireless communication using WiFi protocols), otherembodiments use other or additional communication protocols such asBlueTooth® or ZigBee®. In those embodiments, an appropriate identifierfor the communication protocol of the cooking appliance 102 is receivedby the user computing device 106.

At the operation 604, the network configuration engine 420 displaysinformation about the cooking appliance 102 on the user computing device106. The information about the cooking appliance 102 is determined basedupon the SSID received from the cooking appliance 102.

At the operation 606, the network configuration engine 420 receives auser selection of the cooking appliance 102. Where there are multiplecooking appliances 102 detected by the user computing device 106, a listof available cooking appliances 102 is displayed on the user computingdevice 106 at the operation 604. A user (U) can select one of thedisplayed cooking appliances 102 through the user computing device 106.

At the operation 608, the network configuration engine 420 prompts theuser to enter identification information about the selected cookingappliance 102. In some embodiments, the network configuration engine 420displays a page asking for specific information identifying the selectedcooking appliance 102. For example, the user can type in relevantidentification information through the user computing device 106 asrequired. The identification information is information unique to theselected cooking appliance 102, such as a serial number. In someembodiments, the identification information is provided with the cookingappliance 102, and the user can find the information and enter theinformation through the user computing device 106. The operation 608 canensure a secured connection between the cooking appliance 102 and theuser computing device 106.

At the operation 610, the network configuration engine 420 operates towirelessly connect to the cooking appliance 102 based upon the SSIDreceived at the operation 602 and the identification informationreceived at the operation 608.

At the operation 612, the network configuration engine 420 displays alist of wireless connections available between the cooking appliance 102and the user computing device 106.

At the operation 614, the network configuration engine 420 receives auser selection of one of the available wireless connections. Forexample, the user can select the network 112 using the router 110 in theillustrated example of FIG. 1.

At the operation 616, the network configuration engine 420 prompts theuser to enter a wireless connection password that has been set up in thenetwork 112 via the router 110.

At the operation 618, the network configuration engine 420 sends a SSIDof the user computing device 106 and the wireless connection password tothe cooking appliance 102 to allow the cooking appliance 102 to set up anetwork access with the router 110. Once the network access has been setup with the router 110, the cooking appliance 102 and the user computingdevice 106 can communicate via the network 112 using the router 110.

In some embodiments, the cooking appliance 102 is configured to remainon even if the cooking appliance 102 and the user computing device 106lose its connectivity. In other embodiments, the cooking appliance 102is configured to be automatically turned off when a network connectionis lost between the cooking appliance 102 and the user computing device106.

FIG. 31 is a flowchart illustrating an example method 630 of operatingthe appliance control engine 422. In some embodiments, the method 630includes operations 632, 634, 636, 638, 640, 642, 644, 646, and 648. Themethod 630 includes operations that are performed by one or moreprocessors, such as the processing device 502 as illustrated in FIG. 29.In other embodiments, the method 630 includes only some of theoperations or one or more additional operations. The operations can beperformed in different orders in other embodiments.

At the operation 632, the appliance control engine 422 performs apreheat operation. For example, the appliance control engine 422operates the cooking appliance 102 to heat the bottom cooking plate 212and/or the top cooking plate 380 to a predetermined temperature beforeputting a food item to be cooked in the cooking appliance 102. Anexample preheat operation is illustrated and described in more detailwith reference to FIG. 32.

At the operation 634, when the preheat operation ends, the appliancecontrol engine 422 alerts a user that the preheat operation hascompleted. The alert can be of various types, including visual and/oraudible notifications on the user computing device 106.

At the operation 636, the appliance control engine 422 prompts the userto place a food item in the cooking appliance 102. In some embodiments,the appliance control engine 422 displays a notice that asks the user toplace a food item in the cooking appliance 102 and then provide a userselection of a cooking operation through the user computing device 106,as illustrated in FIG. 46.

At the operation 638, the appliance control engine 422 prompts the userto place the temperature probe assembly 218 into the food item asnecessary.

At the operation 640, the appliance control engine 422 performs acooking operation. In some embodiments, the appliance control engine 422heats the food item until a temperature of the food item reaches atarget cooking temperature automatically set for a particular type offood time or manually selected by the user.

At the operation 642, the appliance control engine 422 alerts a userthat the cooking operation has completed. The alert can be of varioustypes, including visual and/or audible notifications on the usercomputing device 106.

At the operation 644, the appliance control engine 422 prompts the userto remove the temperature probe assembly 218 from the food item. In someembodiments, the appliance control engine 422 displays a notice thatasks the user to remove the temperature probe assembly 218 from the fooditem and then provide a user input through the user computing device 106to verify that the temperature probe assembly 218 has been removed.

At the operation 646, the appliance control engine 422 prompts the userto remove the food item from the cooking appliance 102. In someembodiments, the appliance control engine 422 displays a notice thatasks the user to remove the food item from the cooking appliance 102 andthen provide a user input through the user computing device 106 toverify that the food item has been removed.

At the operation 648, the appliance control engine 422 performs a resttimer operation. The rest timer operation can be used to provide optimalfood conditions for serving. In the rest timer operation, the appliancecontrol engine 422 can provide a timer for measuring a preset time. Thepreset time is determined based upon types of food items. In someembodiments, the appliance control engine 422 displays a notice thatasks the user to remove the food time from the cooking appliance 102 andrest the food time for a preset time before serving. The appliancecontrol engine 422 measures the preset time (e.g., countdown the presettime) and alerts the user when the preset time passes.

FIG. 32 is a flowchart illustrating an example method 670 of performingthe preheat operation with the user computing device 106 executing theappliance control application 108. In some embodiments, the method 670includes operations 672, 674, 676, 678, 680, 682, 684, 686, 688, 690,692, 694, 696, and 698. The method 670 includes operations that areperformed by one or more processors, such as the processing device 502as illustrated in FIG. 29. In other embodiments, the method 670 includesonly some of the operations or one or more additional operations. Theoperations can be performed in different orders in other embodiments.

At the operation 672, the user computing device 106 (e.g., the appliancecontrol engine 422 of the appliance control application 108 running onthe user computing device 106) receives a user selection of a type offood item that the user wants to cook in the cooking appliance 102. Atthis operation, the user computing device 106 provides various cookingoptions. In some embodiments, the user computing device 106 isconfigured to perform either an automatic cooking mode or a manualcooking mode (also referred to herein as a custom cooking mode). In theautomatic cooking mode, the user computing device 106 can display a listof preset food types and prompts the user to select one of them. In themanual cooking mode, the user can adjust cooking characteristics, suchas a target cooking temperature, a target cooking plate temperature, anda target probe temperature.

In some embodiments, a target cooking temperature is defined as atemperature to which the user wants a cooking item to reach. A targetcooking plate temperature can be defined as a temperature at which theuser wants to heat and maintain the cooking plates while cooking. Atarget probe temperature can be defined as a temperature to which theuser wants a temperature of the food item to reach. The temperature ofthe food item is monitored from the temperature probe assembly 218.

At the operation 674, the user computing device 106 determines whether acustom cooking mode is selected. If the custom cooking mode is selected(“YES” at the operation 674), the method 670 moves on to the operation***. Otherwise (“NO” at the operation 674), the method 670 continues atthe operation 676.

At the operation 676, the user computing device 106 determines whether amiscellaneous food type is selected. If a miscellaneous food type isselected (“YES” at the operation 674), the method 670 moves on to theoperation 682. Otherwise (“NO” at the operation 674), the method 670continues at the operation 678.

In some embodiments, a miscellaneous food type is designed to be usedwhen a food item is difficult to be categorized in particular foodtypes. For example, the miscellaneous food type can be used for avegetarian food type, such as vegetables and vegetarian meals. In otherembodiments, the miscellaneous food type can be used for food items thatare too thin to insert the temperature probe assembly 218, such assliced potatoes and onions.

At the operation 678, the user computing device 106 receives a userselection of a target cooking temperature. In some embodiments, the usercomputing device 106 displays various options that enable the user toenter a target cooking temperature. For example, the user can simplyaccept a preset cooking temperature associated with the type of fooditem selected at the operation 672. Alternatively, the user can adjust adegree of doneness for the selected type of food item, as illustrated inFIGS. 39. The user computing device 106 can also provide an interfacethat enables the user to adjust a target cooking temperature as the userdesires. Example displays of the user computing device 106 at theoperation 678 are illustrated in FIGS. 39-44.

At the operation 680, the user computing device 106 receives a userselection of a preheat operation start. In some embodiments, the usercomputing device 106 displays a user-selectable button thereon that theuser can select when the user wants to begin heating the cooking plates212 and/or 380. An example of such a button is illustrated in FIGS.39-44. When the user tabs the button on the user computing device 106,the user computing device 106 sends a command signal to the appliancecontrol device 104 of the cooking appliance 102 so that at least one ofthe cooking plates 212 and 380 is heated based on the selected preheatconfiguration. For example, at least one of the cooking plates 212 and380 is heated to the selected cooking temperature (e.g., the targetcooking temperature or the target cooking plate temperature).

The operation 682 is performed from either the operation 674 or theoperation 676. At the operation 682, the user computing device 106receives a user selection of a target cooking plate temperature. In someembodiments, the user computing device 106 displays varioususer-selectable buttons thereon, such as those illustrated in FIGS. 43and 44, so that the user selects or adjusts a target cooking platetemperature as desired.

At the operation 684, the user computing device 106 receives a userselection of using the temperature probe assembly 218. In someembodiments, the user computing device 106 displays a user-selectablebutton thereon, such as those illustrated in FIGS. 43 and 44, so that,by selecting the button, the user chooses to use the temperature probeassembly 218 to monitor a temperature of the food item while cooking.

At the operation 686, the user computing device 106 determines whetherthe temperature probe option is selected at the operation 684. If thetemperature probe assembly 218 is selected to be used (“YES” at theoperation 686), the method 670 moves on to the operation 688. Otherwise(“NO” at the operation 686), the method 670 returns to the operation680.

At the operation 688, the user computing device 106 receives a userselection of a target probe temperature. In some embodiments, the usercomputing device 106 displays a user-selectable button thereon, such asthose illustrated in FIGS. 43 and 44, so that the user selects oradjusts a target probe temperature as desired. As described above, atarget probe temperature can be defined as a temperature to which theuser wants a temperature of a food item to reach. As the temperature ofthe food item is monitored from the temperature probe assembly 218, themonitored temperature indicates a temperature inside the food item towhich the temperature probe assembly 218 is inserted.

At the operation 690, the user computing device 106 displays a status ofpreheat operation. In some embodiments, the user computing device 106shows a progress bar, as illustrated in FIG. 45, to visualize theprogression of the preheat operation. The user computing device 106 canfurther display the currently-selected preheat configuration, such asthe type of food item and the target cooking temperature selected asabove. In other embodiments, the status of preheat operation can berepresented in different manners.

At the operation 692, the user computing device 106 determines whether auser selection of changing the preheat configuration is received. Insome embodiments, the user computing device 106 shows one or moreuser-selectable buttons that enable the user to change the currently-setpreheat configuration. For example, the user can change the type of fooditem and/or the target temperature (e.g., the target cookingtemperature, the target cooking plate temperature, and/or the targetprobe temperature). If the change is received (“YES” at the operation692), the method 670 moves to the operation 694. Otherwise (“NO” at theoperation 692), the method 670 continues on at the operation 696.

At the operation 694, the user computing device 106 operates to resetthe preheat configuration based upon the user change received at theoperation 692. For example, the target temperature and/or the type offood item are modified to accord with the change made at the operation692. In some embodiments, the user computing device 106 sends a signalto the appliance control device 104 of the cooking appliance 102 so thatat least one of the cooking plates 212 and 380 is heated based on thechanged preheat configuration.

At the operation 696, the user computing device 106 monitors atemperature of at least one of the cooking plates 212 and 380. In someembodiments, the thermostat assembly 266 is used to monitor atemperature of the bottom cooking plate 212. The appliance controldevice 104 can receive a signal indicative of the cooking platetemperature and send it to the user computing device 106. In someembodiments, the user computing device 106 can then process and displaythe temperature information thereon.

At the operation 698, the user computing device 106 determines whetherthe cooking plate temperature has reached the target temperature. If thecooking plate temperature is determined to have reached the targettemperature (“YES” at the operation 698), the method 670 continues on atthe operation 634 and subsequent operations as illustrated in FIG. 31.Otherwise (“NO” at the operation 698), the method 670 returns to theoperation 690 to continue the preheat operation.

FIG. 33 is a flowchart illustrating an example method 710 of performingthe cooking operation with the user computing device 106 executing theappliance control application 108. In some embodiments, the method 710includes operations 712, 714, 716, 718, 720, 722, and 724. The method710 includes operations that are performed by one or more processors,such as the processing device 502 as illustrated in FIG. 29. In otherembodiments, the method 710 includes only some of the operations or oneor more additional operations. The operations can be performed indifferent orders in other embodiments.

At the operation 712, the user computing device 106 receives a userselection of a cooking operation start. In some embodiments, the usercomputing device 106 displays a user-selectable button thereon that theuser can select when the user wants to begin cooking after placing afood item in the cooking appliance 102. An example of such a button isillustrated in FIG. 46. When the user tabs the button on the usercomputing device 106, the user computing device 106 sends a commandsignal to the appliance control device 104 of the cooking appliance 102to maintain the temperature of at least one of the cooking plates 212and 380 to heat the food item.

At the operation 714, the user computing device 106 displays a status ofcooking operation. In some embodiments, the user computing device 106shows a progress bar, as illustrated in FIG. 47, to visualize theprogression of the cooking operation. The user computing device 106 canfurther display the currently-selected cooking configuration, such asthe current temperature (e.g., the current cooking plate temperatureand/or the current probe temperature), the type of food item, and thetarget cooking temperature selected as above. In other embodiments, thestatus of preheat operation can be represented in different manners.

At the operation 716, the user computing device 106 displays one or morecooking configuration change options. In some embodiments, the usercomputing device 106 shows one or more user-selectable buttons thatenable the user to change the currently-set cooking configuration. Forexample, the user can change the type of food item and/or the targettemperature (e.g., the target cooking temperature, the target cookingplate temperature, and/or the target probe temperature).

At the operation 718, the user computing device 106 determines whether auser selection of changing the cooking configuration is received. If thechange is received (“YES” at the operation 718), the method 710 moves tothe operation 720. Otherwise (“NO” at the operation 718), the method 710continues on at the operation 722.

At the operation 720, the user computing device 106 operates to resetthe cooking configuration based upon the user change received at theoperation 718. For example, the target temperature and/or the type offood item are modified to accord with the change made at the operation718. In some embodiments, the user computing device 106 sends a signalto the appliance control device 104 of the cooking appliance 102 so thatat least one of the cooking plates 212 and 380 is heated based on thechanged cooking configuration.

At the operation 722, the user computing device 106 monitors atemperature of the food item. In some embodiments, the food temperatureis monitored by the temperature probe assembly 218 inserted into thefood item. In other embodiments, the food temperature is detected by thethermostat assembly 266 that is used to monitor a temperature of thebottom cooking plate 212. A predetermined algorithm can be used tocalculate the food temperature based upon the temperature of the bottomcooking plate 212. Alternatively, the cooking plate temperature can beused as the food temperature in some embodiments, such as where a fooditem is small or thin enough to have a uniform temperature throughoutthe food item. In yet other embodiments, the food temperature can bemonitored in various manners.

In this operation, the appliance control device 104 can receive a signalindicative of the food temperature and send it to the user computingdevice 106. In some embodiments, the user computing device 106 can thenprocess and display the temperature information thereon.

At the operation 724, the user computing device 106 determines whetherthe food temperature has reached the target cooking temperature. If thefood temperature is determined to have reached the target cookingtemperature (“YES” at the operation 724), the method 710 continues on atthe operation 642 and subsequent operations as illustrated in FIG. 31.Otherwise (“NO” at the operation 724), the method 710 returns to theoperation 714 to continue the cooking operation.

In some embodiments, when the food temperature reaches the targetcooking temperature, the cooking appliance 102 is configured to beautomatically turned off.

Referring to FIGS. 34-49, an example interface 800 of the appliancecontrol application 108 running on the user computing device 106.

FIG. 34 is an example interface 800 of the appliance control application108 that displays a network configuration page 802 (including 802A and802B). In some embodiments, the network configuration page 802 isoperated by the network configuration engine 420. The networkconfiguration page 802 is configured to enable a user to set up acommunications network between the cooking appliance 102 and the usercomputing device 106. In some embodiment, the network configuration page802 includes a first button 804 for looking up available cookingappliances 102 and a second button 806 for selecting one of theavailable cooking appliances 102. A first network configuration page802A shows no cooking appliance 102 is found to be available or added bya user. A second network configuration page 802B shows a list ofavailable cooking appliances 102 (“Cooking Appliance A” in theillustrated example) when such cooking appliances 102 are detected. Theuser can select the available cooking appliance 102 to establish anetwork connection as illustrated in FIG. 30.

FIG. 35 is an example interface 800 of the appliance control application108 that displays a home screen page 812. In some embodiments, the homescreen page 812 includes a preheat operation button 814 and a button 816for other functions.

The preheat operation button 814, when selected, causes the appliancecontrol application 108 to display a preheat operation page 822 asillustrated in FIG. 45.

The button 816 for other functions, when selected, causes the appliancecontrol application 108 to display various pieces of informationthereon, as illustrated in FIG. 37.

FIG. 36 is an example interface 800 of the appliance control application108 that displays a preheat operation page 822. The preheat operationpage 822 can display various food selection options prior to a preheatconfiguration page (e.g., pages 862, 872, 882, 892, 902, and 922) and apreheat operation status page (e.g., page 932). In some embodiments, thepreheat operation page 822 includes a menu option button 824 and a listof cooking modes 826.

The menu option button 824, when selected, causes the appliance controlapplication 108 to display a list of different menu items that a usercan select as necessary. An example of the menu items is illustrated inFIG. 38.

The list of cooking modes 826 provides different cooking modes availablefor the cooking appliance 102. A user can select one of the cookingmodes as desired. In some embodiments, the cooking modes are preset andstored in the user computing device 106. In other embodiments, variouscooking modes can be downloaded from a remote server computing devicewhen the user computing device 106 is available for data communicationswith the server computing device. In yet other embodiments, variouscooking modes are created or modified from existing cooking modes by auser through the user computing device 106.

In some embodiments, the list of cooking modes 826 includes an automaticcooking mode and a manual cooking mode. In the automatic cooking mode,the appliance control application 108 prompts a user to select one ofpreset food item types, and then the user computing device 106 sends asignal to the appliance control device 104 of the cooking appliance 102to enable the appliance control device 104 to operate the cookingappliance 102 based upon a predetermined cooking configuration for theselected food item type. In the illustrated example, when a user selectsone of food types 828 listed in the page 822, the automatic cooking modeis executed and the cooking appliance 102 is operated with a cookingconfiguration (e.g., a target cooking temperature and a cooking time)preset for the selected food type. In some embodiments, example foodtypes 828 in the automatic cooking mode include red meat 828A, pork828B, poultry 828C, fish 828D, and vegetarian food items 828E. Examplesof preset cooking configurations for each food type are illustrated anddescribed with reference to FIGS. 36-41.

In the manual cooking mode, the appliance control application 108prompts a user to configure a cooking configuration as the user desires.In the illustrated example, when a user selects a custom cooking 830,the manual cooking mode is executed and the cooking appliance 102 isoperated based upon a cooking configuration (e.g., a target cookingtemperature, a target probe temperature, a target cooking platetemperature, and a cooking time) selected and adjusted by the user. Anexample of the manual cooking mode is illustrated and described in moredetail with reference to FIGS. 43.

In some embodiments, the appliance control application 108 provides asearing mode in which the cooking appliance 102 is operated to sear afood item in a predetermined manner depending on the type of food item.

FIG. 37 is an example interface 800 of the appliance control application108 that displays a recipe information page 832. In some embodiments,the recipe information page 832 is brought up when the button 816 in thehome screen page 812 is selected by a user.

In some embodiments, the recipe information page 832 is configured toshow different recipes stored in the user computing device 106. In someembodiments, the recipe information can be preset and stored in the usercomputing device 106. In other embodiments, data including recipeinformation can be transmitted from a remote server computing devicewhen a data communications network is established between the usercomputing device 106 and the server computing device. The recipeinformation can be modified by a user and saved in the user computingdevice 106 and/or any server computing device.

FIG. 38 is an example interface 800 of the appliance control application108 that displays a menu page 842. In some embodiments, the menu page842 is brought up when the menu option button 824 is selected by a user.

The menu page 842 provides various functional options that a user canselect. In some embodiments, the menu page 842 includes a preheat andcooking operation button 844 and a recipe information button 846. Thepreheat and cooking operation button 844, when selected, causes theappliance control application 108 to execute the preheat operationand/or the cooking operation. The recipe information button 846, whenselected, causes the appliance control application 108 to displayvarious recipes on the interface 800. Other embodiments of the menu page842 can include other options associated with use of the cookingappliance 102.

FIG. 39 is an example interface 800 of the appliance control application108 that displays a red meat food type page 862. In some embodiments,the red meat food type page 862 is brought up when the red meat button828A is selected by a user.

In the red meat food type page 862, a target cooking temperature can beadjusted by selecting a level of doneness, such as very rare, rare,medium rare, medium, well, and very well done. In some embodiments, eachof different levels of doneness is associated with different cookingtemperatures. In the illustrated example, the level of doneness can beselected by sweeping gesture 864.

Further, the red meat food type page 862 includes a cooking temperatureselection button 866. A user can manually adjust a target cookingtemperature by sliding gesture 868 along the cooking temperatureselection button 866.

The red meat food type page 862 can include a preheat start button 870that, when selected, causes the appliance control application 108 tostart the preheat operation.

FIG. 40 is an example interface 800 of the appliance control application108 that displays a pork food type page 872. In some embodiments, thepork food type page 872 is brought up when the pork button 828B isselected by a user.

In the pork food type page 872, a target cooking temperature is presetand recommended to a user. The pork food type page 872 includes acooking temperature selection button 874. When a user wants to adjust atarget cooking temperature differently from the recommended one, theuser can manually adjust a target cooking temperature by sliding gesture876 along the cooking temperature selection button 874.

The pork food type page 872 can include a preheat start button 878 that,when selected, causes the appliance control application 108 to start thepreheat operation.

FIG. 41 is an example interface 800 of the appliance control application108 that displays a poultry food type page 882. In some embodiments, thepoultry food type page 882 is brought up when the poultry button 828C isselected by a user.

In the poultry food type page 882, a target cooking temperature ispreset and recommended to a user. The poultry food type page 882includes a cooking temperature selection button 884. When a user wantsto adjust a target cooking temperature differently from the recommendedone, the user can manually adjust a target cooking temperature bysliding gesture 886 along the cooking temperature selection button 884.

The poultry food type page 882 can include a preheat start button 888that, when selected, causes the appliance control application 108 tostart the preheat operation.

FIG. 42 is an example interface 800 of the appliance control application108 that displays a fish food type page 892. In some embodiments, thefish food type page 892 is brought up when the fish button 828D isselected by a user.

In the fish food type page 892, a target cooking temperature is presetand recommended to a user. The fish food type page 892 includes acooking temperature selection button 894. When a user wants to adjust atarget cooking temperature differently from the recommended one, theuser can manually adjust a target cooking temperature by sliding gesture896 along the cooking temperature selection button 894.

The fish food type page 892 can include a preheat start button 898 that,when selected, causes the appliance control application 108 to start thepreheat operation.

FIG. 43 is an example interface 800 of the appliance control application108 that displays a miscellaneous food type page 902. In someembodiments, the miscellaneous food type page 902 is brought up when thevegetarian food items button 828E is selected by a user.

In some embodiments, a miscellaneous food type is designed to be usedwhen a food item is difficult to be categorized in particular foodtypes. For example, the miscellaneous food type can be used for avegetarian food type, such as vegetables and vegetarian meals. In otherembodiments, the miscellaneous food type can be used for food items thatare too thin to insert the temperature probe assembly 218, such assliced potatoes and onions.

In some embodiments, the miscellaneous food type page 902 includes atarget cooking plate temperature selection button 904. A user canmanually adjust a target cooking plate temperature by sliding gesture906 along the cooking plate temperature selection button 904.

The miscellaneous food type page 902 can include a probe selectionbutton 908. When a user selects the probe selection button 908, thetemperature probe assembly 218 is used to monitor a temperature of afood item through which the temperature probe assembly 218 is inserted.

In some embodiments, the miscellaneous food type page 902 includes atarget probe temperature selection button 910. A user can manuallyadjust a target probe temperature of the temperature probe assembly 218by sliding gesture 912 along the target probe temperature selectionbutton 910. The temperature of a food item monitored by the temperatureprobe assembly 218 is used to verify that the internal temperature ofthe food item has reached the target probe temperature.

The miscellaneous food type page 902 can include a preheat start button914 that, when selected, causes the appliance control application 108 tostart the preheat operation.

FIG. 44 is an example interface 800 of the appliance control application108 that displays a manual cooking mode page 922. In some embodiments,the manual cooking mode page 922 is brought up when the custom cooking830 is selected by a user.

In some embodiments, the manual cooking mode page 922 is configuredsimilarly to the miscellaneous food type page 902. Therefore, the samereference numbers are used in FIGS. 43 and 44 to the extent available,and the description of the manual cooking mode page 922 is omitted forbrevity purposes.

FIG. 45 is an example interface 800 of the appliance control application108 that displays a preheat status page 932. The preheat status page 932is displayed when the preheat operation is performed.

In some embodiments, the preheat status page 932 includes a progress bar934 to visualize the progression of the preheat operation.

The preheat status page 932 can display a currently-selected preheatconfiguration 936, such as the type of food item and the selected targetcooking temperature. In the illustrated example, steak has been selectedas a type of food item, and a target cooking temperature has beenselected at 130° F. (or a rare level of doneness).

In some embodiments, the preheat status page 932 includes one or morebuttons 938 and 940 that permits a user to modify the currently-selectedpreheat configuration 936.

FIG. 46 is an example interface 800 of the appliance control application108 that displays a preheat end notification page 942. The preheat endnotification page 942 is displayed when the preheat operation iscomplete.

In some embodiments, the preheat end notification page 942 displays avisual notification 944 alerting a user that the preheat operation hasended and the cooking appliance is ready for cooking operation. In otherembodiments, the preheat end notification page 942 can provide anaudible notification to alert a user to the end of preheat operation.

The preheat end notification page 942 includes a close button 946 and acooking operation button 948. A user can select the close button 946 tonot proceed with a cooking operation or to stop using the cookingappliance 102. To continue on with a cooking operation, the user canselect the cooking operation button 948.

FIG. 47 is an example interface 800 of the appliance control application108 that displays a cooking status page 952. The cooking status page 952is displayed when the cooking operation is performed.

In some embodiments, the cooking status page 952 includes a currenttemperature display 954 for display a current temperature (e.g., acurrent cooking plate temperature or a current probe temperature), and aprogress bar 956 to visualize the progression of the cooking operation.

The cooking status page 952 can display a currently-selected cookingconfiguration 958, such as the type of food item and the selected targetcooking temperature. In the illustrated example, steak has been selectedas a type of food item, and a target cooking temperature has beenselected at 130° F. (or a rare level of doneness).

In some embodiments, the cooking status page 952 includes one or morebuttons 960 and 961 that permits a user to modify the currently-selectedcooking configuration 958.

The cooking status page 952 can also include a cook timer 963 toindicate a time left until cooking ends. Other types of timer arepossible in other embodiments.

FIG. 48 is an example interface 800 of the appliance control application108 that displays a cooking end notification page 962. The cooking endnotification page 962 is displayed when the cooking operation iscomplete.

In some embodiments, the cooking end notification page 962 displays avisual notification 964 alerting a user that the cooking operation hasended. In other embodiments, the cooking end notification page 962 canprovide an audible notification to alert a user to the end of cookingoperation.

The cooking end notification page 962 includes a close button 966 and anadditional cooking operation button 968. A user can select the closebutton 966 to stop using the cooking appliance 102. To continue on withanother preheat or cooking operation, the user can select the additionalcooking operation button 968.

FIG. 49 is an example interface 800 of the appliance control application108 that displays a rest timer page 972. The rest timer page 972 can bedisplayed when the cooking operation is complete. The rest timeroperation can be used to provide optimal food conditions for serving.

In some embodiments, the rest timer page 972 includes a timer display974, a skip timer button 976, and a start timer button 978. The timerdisplay 974 is designed to set up a time and visualize a timer formeasuring the set time. In some embodiments, the rest time is presetbased upon types of food items. Once the time is over, the rest timerpage 972 can alert the user that the rest time lapses. Selecting theskip timer button 976, the user can skip the rest timer operation. Whenthe start timer button 978 is selected, the rest time can start.

Referring again to FIGS. 3-26, it is noted that the cooking appliance102 can include other modules and components than those described aboveto perform various functions. In some embodiments, the cooking appliance102 employs a sensing technology for detecting smoke in or around thecooking appliance 102 and alerting the user directly from the cookingappliance 102 or through the user computing device 106.

Referring to FIGS. 50-59, another example countertop cooking applianceis described and illustrated.

Typical countertop cooking appliances, such as contact grills, ricecookers, skillets, griddles, toaster ovens, waffle makers, and slowcookers often require a user of the appliance to remain close to theappliance. Some countertop cooking appliances need to be preheated to aparticular temperature before a food item may be cooked with thecountertop cooking appliance. The user of the countertop cookingappliance must remain near the countertop cooking appliance to determinewhen the countertop cooking appliance has reached the appropriatetemperature before beginning to cook the food item with the countertopcooking appliance. Some countertop cooking appliances include a visualor audible notification, such as a light or buzzer, to indicate that thecountertop cooking appliance has reached the desired temperature. Suchnotifications, however, are typically only effective when the user isrelatively close to (e.g., in the same room as) the countertop cookingappliance.

Similarly, some cooking operations may be performed by a countertopcooking appliance for a period of time without requiring significantaction by the user. For example, a food item may need to cook on acontact grill for five to seven minutes. At least for the first fiveminutes that the item is cooking, the user is not needed. However, ifthe user does not remain close to the countertop cooking appliance, theuser may not know when the five minutes has elapsed and may not hear orsee an indication from the countertop cooking appliance that the timehas elapsed.

Moreover, a user of a countertop cooking appliance may need tophysically check a food item being cooked to determine when the fooditem is cooked to a desired degree. For some food items, such as chickenor pork food items, the internal temperature of the food item needs toreach a certain minimum temperature for food safety. To check the fooditem, the user may visually inspect the food item or may cut open thefood item to detect how cooked the item is at a certain point. Suchchecking of the doneness of a food item is often inaccurate, lengthensthe cooking process (e.g., due to repeated opening of the countertopcooking appliance allowing heat to escape), may produce an aestheticallyless pleasing food item (e.g., due to repeated cutting, etc.), and mayproduce an inferior food item (e.g., by allowing moisture containedwithin the food item to escape). Some users may use an external foodthermometer to check the internal temperature of the food item beingcooked (for food safety reasons and/or desired degree of doneness). Suchthermometers typically require the user to remain close to thethermometer to read the temperature measured by the thermometer, may notbe able to remain in the food item while it is being cooked, and/or mayrequire the user to repeatedly open/access the food.

Furthermore, countertop cooking appliances sometimes include a displayfor providing limited information to a user of the appliance. Forexample, the display may indicate a time, temperature, and/or speed atwhich the device is operating. The display may be an electronic display,such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a series of one or moreindicator lights, or a physical display, such as setting markings besidea control lever and/or selection buttons. Such displays may, however,provide limited information to a user of the appliance and require auser to be close to the appliance, i.e., close enough to read thedisplay, to receive any information from the appliance.

It may be advantageous to provide a user with systems, methods, andcomputer-readable media to provide information to a user of a countertopcooking appliance locally and or remotely, and/or to provide the userwith additional control over the countertop cooking appliance.

As described below, the countertop cooking appliances of the presentdisclosure are configured to communicate with a remote communicationdevice. In some embodiments, the countertop cooking appliances areheated countertop cooking appliances for container and/or surfacecooking. The countertop cooking appliances are configured to send datato the remote communication device.

The data that the countertop cooking appliances send to the remotecommunication device includes, for example, food item data, operationaldata for the countertop cooking appliance, and maintenance and/or errordata concerning the countertop cooking appliance. Example food item dataincludes the weight of the food item(s) placed on the countertop cookingappliance, the temperature of food item(s) on the countertop cookingappliance, and/or the thickness of the items placed on the countertopcooking appliance. Operational data for the countertop cooking appliancecan include a temperature of a cooking surface of the countertop cookingappliance, an air temperature within the countertop cooking appliance, astatus of the countertop cooking appliance (e.g., on or off, preheating,cleaning cycle, etc.), the current settings of the countertop cookingappliance, and the like. Maintenance and error data includes dataconcerning suggested or required maintenance procedures (e.g., cleaninga filter, draining a drip pan), and identification of errors andpossible solutions.

The remote communication device is configured, such as by suitableprogramming, to communicate with the countertop cooking appliance.Specifically, the remote communication device is configured to receivedata from the countertop cooking appliance and display the data to theuser. In some embodiments, the remote communication device is configuredto allow the user to remotely control at least some aspects of thecountertop cooking appliance. For example, the remote communicationdevice may be configured to be able to turn the countertop cookingappliance on and off, set a timer on the countertop cooking appliance,change/set one or more settings of the countertop cooking appliance(e.g., set temperature), and/or instruct the countertop cookingappliance to perform a series of actions.

The remote communication device is configured to be able to inform andalert a user based on data received from the countertop cookingappliance and/or user settings. For example, the user can set a timer onthe remote communication device to be alerted when a food item should bedone (according to the recipe). The remote communication device canalert the user, based on data received from the countertop cookingappliance, when the countertop cooking appliance reaches a specifiedcondition, such as a surface temperature, or when the food item on thecountertop cooking appliance reaches a certain internal temperature.

Additional aspects of the present disclosure relate to interactiveinstructions and/or recipes. The remote communication device can store,import, and/or retrieve recipes that utilize the countertop cookingappliance and instructions for using the countertop cooking appliance.Recipes may simply be displayed to the user or may interact with theuser and/or the countertop cooking appliance (via the remotecommunication device). For example, when a user selects an interactiverecipe, the settings of the countertop cooking appliance to prepare therecipe (e.g., the temperature) may be transmitted and applied to thecountertop cooking appliance. When a recipe includes multiple steps, theinteractive recipe may step the user through the steps of the recipe aseach step is completed. The remote communication device can determinewhen a step is completed based on data received from the countertopcooking appliance and/or based on the user indicating that a step iscompleted.

FIG. 50 is an illustration of an example system 1100 having a countertopcooking appliance 1102 and a remote communication device 1104. Theremote communication device 1104 is communicatively coupled to thecountertop cooking appliance 1102 directly and/or via a network 1106. Adata store 1108 is communicatively coupled with the countertop cookingappliance 1102 and the remote communication device 1104 via the network1106. The countertop cooking appliance 1102 includes an externaltemperature probe 1110.

In some embodiments, the system 1100 is configured similarly to thecooking appliance system 100 as described above. For example, thecountertop cooking appliance 1102, the remote communication device 1104,and the network 1106 are configured similarly to the cooking appliance102, the user computing device 106, and the wireless network 112,respectively.

The countertop cooking appliance 1102 is a countertop contact grill. Inother embodiments, the countertop cooking appliance 1102 is a ricecooker, a skillet, a griddle, a toaster oven, a waffle maker, a slowcooker, or any other suitable heated appliance for container and/orsurface cooking. The countertop cooking appliance 1102 is configured tocommunicate with the remote communication device 1104 by suitableprogramming loaded onto the countertop cooking appliance 1102.

A remote communication device, as used herein, is a device that isseparate from the countertop cooking appliance 1102 and that is capableof receiving communication from the countertop cooking appliance 1102.In the exemplary embodiment, the remote communication device 1104 is amobile phone. In other embodiments, the remote communication device 1104is a desktop computer, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, atelevision, a radio, a personal digital assistance, a pager, any othersuitable communication device, or any combination thereof. Additionally,in some embodiments, the remote communication device 1104 is a devicespecifically dedicated to the countertop cooking appliance 1102 suchthat the remote communication device 1104 is configured to communicatespecifically with the countertop cooking appliance. Although only oneremote communication device is shown in FIG. 50, it is contemplated thatmore than one remote communication device 1104, including differenttypes of remote communication devices, may be used with system 1100. Theremote communication device 1104 is configured to communicate with thecountertop cooking appliance 1102 by suitable programming loaded ontothe remote communication device 1104. In some embodiments, anapplication (sometimes referred to as an “app”) is downloaded and/orinstalled on the remote communication device 1104. The installedapplication configures the remote communication device 1104 tocommunicate with the countertop cooking appliance 1102 and otherwisefunction as described herein.

The countertop cooking appliance 1102 communicates with the remotecommunication device 1104 directly and/or by utilizing network 1106. Theappliance 1102 communicates with the remote communication device 1104using any suitable wired or wireless communication protocol. Forexample, the countertop cooking appliance 1102 may communicate with theremote communication device using, along with appropriate communicationprotocols, a radio frequency (RF) transceiver, a Bluetooth® adapter, aWi-Fi transceiver, a ZigBee® transceiver, a near field communication(NFC) transceiver, an infrared (IR) transceiver, and/or any other devicecapable of communicating directly with remote communication device 1104.(Bluetooth is a registered trademark of Bluetooth Special Interest Groupof Kirkland, Wash.; ZigBee is a registered trademark of the ZigBeeAlliance of San Ramon, Calif.) Wired communication between thecountertop cooking appliance 1102 and the remote communication device1104 may use any suitable wired communication protocol including,without limitation, USB, RS232, I2C, SPI, analog, and proprietary I/Oprotocols.

The network 1106 is a communication network. In an exemplary embodiment,the network 1106 is a wireless local area network (WLAN). The network1106 may be any suitable type of network and/or a combination ofnetworks. The network 1106 may be wired or wireless or a combinationthereof and of any or multiple communication protocols. The network 1106may include, without limitation, the Internet, a local area network(LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a wireless LAN (WLAN), a mesh network,a virtual private network (VPN), a cellular network, and/or any othernetwork that allows system 1100 to operate as described herein.

The data store 1108 is configured to store data associated with thecountertop cooking appliance 1102 and/or the remote communication device1104. Such data may include food item data, operational data for thecountertop cooking appliance, and maintenance and/or error dataconcerning the countertop cooking appliance. The data store 1108 mayalso store instructions and/or recipes for use with the countertopcooking appliance 1102. Although a single data store 1108 is shown inFIG. 50, system 1100 may include one or multiple data stores. The datastore 1108 may be a standalone data store (e.g., a part of a serverconnected to network 1106), may be located within countertop cookingappliance 1102, and/or may be located within the remote communicationdevice 1104. Moreover, the data store 1108 may be a distributed datastore that exists across multiple computers, devices, and/or locations.

Temperature probe 1110 is communicatively coupled to countertop cookingappliance 1102 to provide temperature data to countertop cookingappliance 1102. The temperature probe 1110 detects a temperature arounda probe element 1112 and provides a signal indicative of the detectedtemperature to the countertop cooking appliance 1102. In the illustratedembodiment, the temperature probe 1110 is removably connected to thecountertop cooking appliance 1102 with a wire 1114. Alternatively, thetemperature probe 1110 may be wirelessly coupled to the countertopcooking appliance 1102. The temperature probe 1110 is configured to beinserted into a food item being cooked with the countertop cookingappliance 1102 in order to detect the internal temperature of the fooditem and transmit a signal indicative of the temperature to thecountertop cooking appliance 1102. In some embodiments, the temperatureprobe 1110 is configured similarly to the temperature probe assembly 218as described above.

Various embodiments described in this disclosure include computingdevices. FIG. 51 shows an example of a computing device 1200 intended torepresent various forms of digital computers, such as laptops, desktops,workstations, personal digital assistants, servers, blade servers,mainframes, and other appropriate computers. Computing device 1200 isalso intended to represent various forms of mobile devices, such aspersonal digital assistants, cellular telephones, smart phones, andother similar computing devices. The components shown here, theirconnections and relationships, and their functions, are meant to beexamples only, and are not meant to limit implementations of the subjectmatter described and/or claimed in this document.

In the exemplary embodiment, countertop cooking appliance 1102 andremote communication device 1104 (shown in FIG. 50) each include some orall of a computing device 1200. For example, the countertop cookingappliance 1102 may include a communication interface and associatedcontrols rather than a complete computing device 1200. Computing device1200 includes a bus 1202, a processor 1204, a main memory 1206, a readonly memory (ROM) 1208, a storage device 1210, an input device 1212, andoutput device 1214, and a communication interface 1216. Bus 1202includes a path that permits communication among the components ofcomputing device 1200.

Processor 1204 includes any type of conventional processor,microprocessor, or processing logic that interprets and executesinstructions. Processor 1204 can process instructions for executionwithin the computing device 1200, including instructions stored in themain memory 1206 or on the storage device 1210 to display graphicalinformation for a GUI on an external input/output device, such asdisplay 1214 coupled to a high speed interface. In otherimplementations, multiple processors and/or multiple buses may be used,as appropriate, along with multiple memories and types of memory. Also,multiple computing devices 1200 may be connected, with each deviceproviding portions of the necessary operations (e.g., as a server bank,a group of blade servers, or a multi-processor system).

Main memory 1206 may include a random access memory (RAM) or anothertype of dynamic storage device that stores information and instructionsfor execution by processor 1204. Main memory 1206 stores informationwithin the computing device 1200. In one implementation, main memory1206 is a volatile memory unit or units. In another implementation, mainmemory 1206 is a non-volatile memory unit or units. Main memory 1206 mayalso be another form of computer-readable medium, such as a magnetic oroptical disk.

ROM 1208 may include a conventional ROM device or another type of staticstorage device that stores static information and instructions for useby processor 1204.

The storage device 1210 is capable of providing mass storage for thecomputing device 1200. Storage device 1210 may include a magnetic and/oroptical recording medium and its corresponding drive. In oneimplementation, the storage device 1210 may be or contain acomputer-readable medium, such as a floppy disk device, a hard diskdevice, an optical disk device, or a tape device, a flash memory orother similar solid state memory device, or an array of devices,including devices in a storage area network or other configurations. Acomputer program product can be tangibly embodied in an informationcarrier. The computer program product may also contain instructionsthat, when executed, perform one or more methods, such as thosedescribed above. The information carrier is a computer- ormachine-readable medium, such as main memory 1206, ROM 1208, the storagedevice 1210, or memory on processor 1204.

Input device 1212 includes a conventional mechanism that permitscomputer device 1200 to receive commands, instructions, or other inputsfrom a user, including visual, audio, touch, button presses, stylustaps, etc. Additionally, input device 1212 may receive locationinformation. Accordingly, input device 1212 may include, for example, acamera, a microphone, one or more buttons, a touch screen, and/or a GPSreceiver. Output device 1214 may include a conventional mechanism thatoutputs information to the user, including a display (including a touchscreen) and/or a speaker. Communication interface 1216 may include anytransceiver-like mechanism that enables computing device 1200 tocommunicate with other devices and/or systems. For example,communication interface 1216 may include mechanisms for communicatingwith another device or system directly or via a network, such as network1106 (shown in FIG. 50).

As described herein, computing device 1200 facilitates the presentationof content, such as an instruction, along with food item data,operational data for the countertop cooking appliance, and maintenanceand/or error data. Computing device 1200 may perform these and otheroperations in response to processor 1204 executing software instructionscontained in a computer-readable medium, such as main memory 1206. Acomputer-readable medium may be defined as a physical or logicalcomputer-readable memory device and/or carrier wave. The softwareinstructions may be read into main memory 1206 from anothercomputer-readable medium, such as data storage device 1210, or fromanother device via communication interface 1216. The softwareinstructions contained in main memory 1206 may cause processor 1204 toperform processes described herein. Alternatively, hardwired circuitrymay be used in place of or in combination with software instructions toimplement processes and systems consistent with the principles of thesubject matter disclosed herein. Embodiments are not limited to anyspecific combination of hardware circuitry and software.

The processor 1204 can execute instructions within the computing device1200, including instructions stored in the main memory 1206. Theprocessor may be implemented as chips that include separate and multipleanalog and digital processors. The processor may provide, for example,for coordination of the other components of the computing device 1200,such as control of user interfaces, applications run by computing device1200, and wireless communication by computing device 1200.

Computing device 1200 may communicate wirelessly through communicationinterface 1216, which may include digital signal processing circuitrywhere necessary. Communication interface 1216 may provide forcommunications under various modes or protocols, such as GSM voicecalls, SMS, EMS, or MMS messaging, CDMA, TDMA, PDS, WCDMA, CDMA2000, orGPRS, among others. Such communication may occur, for example, throughradiofrequency transceiver. In addition, short-range communication mayoccur, such as using a Bluetooth®, WiFi, or other such transceiver(s)(not shown). In addition, a GPS (Global Position system) receivingmodule may provide additional navigation- and location-related data tocomputing device 1200, which may be used as appropriate by applicationsrunning on computing device 1200.

Thus, various implementations of the systems and techniques describedhere can be realized in digital electronic circuitry, integratedcircuitry, specially designed ASICs (application specific integratedcircuits), computer hardware, firmware, software, and/or combinationsthereof. These various implementations can include implementation in oneor more computer programs that are executable and/or interpretable on aprogrammable system including at least one programmable processor, whichmay be special or general purpose, coupled to receive data andinstructions from, and to transmit data and instructions to, a storagesystem, at least one input device, and at least one output device.

These computer programs (also known as programs, software, softwareapplications or code) include machine instructions for a programmableprocessor, and can be implemented in a high-level procedural and/orobject-oriented programming language, and/or in assembly/machinelanguage. As used herein, the terms “machine-readable medium”“computer-readable medium” refers to any computer program product,apparatus and/or device (e.g., magnetic discs, optical disks, memory,Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs)) used to provide machine instructionsand/or data to a programmable processor, including a machine-readablemedium that receives machine instructions as a machine-readable signal.The “machine-readable medium” and “computer-readable medium,” however,do not include transitory signals. The term “machine-readable signal”refers to any signal used to provide machine instructions and/or data toa programmable processor.

FIG. 52 is a simplified block diagram of the countertop cookingappliance 1102. The countertop cooking appliance 1102 includes acontroller 1302, a heating element 1304, a sensor 1306, and an externalsensor input 1308.

Except as otherwise described herein, the controller 1302 issubstantially identical to the computing device 1200. In otherembodiments, the controller 1302 is any other analog circuitry, digitalcircuitry, or analog and digital circuitry configured to operate asdescribed herein. As FIG. 52 is a simplified block diagram, not allcomponents that are present in a countertop cooking appliance 1102,e.g., wires, switches, relays, power supplies, etc., are illustrated inFIG. 52.

Heating element 1304 provides, under the control of the controller 1302,the heat for cooking a food item with the countertop cooking appliance1102. Although a single heating element 1304 is shown, countertopcooking appliance 1102 may include any number of heating elements 1304suitable to permit countertop cooking appliance 1102 to cook food items.

Sensor 1306 is a temperature sensor configured to detect a temperatureof a portion of the countertop cooking appliance 1102. In the exampleembodiment, the sensor 1306 detects the temperature of the contact grillsurfaces (not shown) of the countertop cooking appliance 1102 on whichthe food item is cooked. The sensor 1306 provides a signal indicative ofthe detected temperature to the controller 1302. The controller 1302uses the detected signal as feedback for controlling the countertopcooking appliance 1102. The controller 1302 may also determine thetemperature based on the signal and present the temperature to a userthrough output device 1214 (shown in FIG. 51) and/or by transmission toremote communication device 1104. In other embodiments, sensor 1306 isany other sensor that detects an operational characteristic ofcountertop cooking appliance 1102 to produce operational data aboutcountertop cooking appliance 1102 or that detects a characteristic of afood item associated with the countertop cooking appliance 1102. Examplesensor types include weight sensors configured to detect the weight ofan item placed on/in the countertop cooking appliance 1102, positionsensors configured to detect the relative position orientation of thecountertop cooking appliance 1102 or a portion of the countertop cookingappliance 1102 (e.g., opened/closed, upside down), moisture sensors todetect the presence and/or amount of moisture, and ambient temperaturesensors. Moreover, although one sensor 1306 is illustrated, countertopcooking appliance 1102 may include any suitable number of similar ordifferent sensors 1306.

External sensor input 1308 couples the external temperature probe 1110(shown in FIG. 50) to the countertop cooking appliance 1102. Asdescribed above, the external temperature probe 1110 detects atemperature at probe element 1112 and generates a signal indicative ofthe detected temperature. The signal is transmitted to the countertopcooking appliance 1102, and more specifically to the controller 1302,through the external sensor input 1308. The controller 1302 maydetermine the detected temperature based on the signal and present thetemperature to a user through the output device 1214 (shown in FIG. 51)and/or by transmission to the remote communication device 1104. In otherembodiments, controller 1302 sends the signal indicative of the detectedtemperature to the remote communication device 1104 without determiningthe detected temperature. The remote communication device 1104 may thendetermine the detected temperature based on the signal and display thedetected temperature to the user.

Turning to FIG. 53, a functional block diagram of system 1100 includesthe countertop cooking appliance 1102, the remote communication device1104 the network 1106, and the data store 1108. The other structuralcomponents of the system 1100 shown in FIGS. 1-3, while still includedas part of system 1100, are not shown in the functional diagram of FIG.53.

The countertop cooking appliance 1102 includes multiple components thatmay be, for example, part of controller 1302 and may be embodied in oneor more software modules executed by controller 1302. The countertopcooking appliance 1102 includes a communication receiving component1402, a communication determining component 1404, and a communicationtransmitting component 1406, and a temperature control component 1408.Communication receiving component 1402 receives data, such as food itemdata, operational data, and maintenance and/or error data. Moreover,communication receiving component 1402 receives data and instructionsfrom a remote communication component 1104 and input device 1212. Thecommunication determining component 1404 is configured to calculate,compare, and determine results based on inputs, such as from thecommunication receiving component 1402. For example, the communicationdetermining component determines a temperature based on a signalrepresentative of the temperature received from sensor 1306 (shown inFIG. 52). Communication transmitting component 1406 is configured tooutput received data and/or determined values to output device 1214, tothe data store 1108, and/or to remote communication component 1104. Thetemperature control component 1408 controls the heating element 1304(shown in FIG. 52) based on data from 30814-1316 (SP-1959) sensor 1306and user inputs. Thus, the user may set a desired temperature for thecountertop cooking appliance 1102 via the input device 1212 or theremote communication device 1104 and the temperature control component1408 operates the heating element 1304 to achieve the desiredtemperature.

As described above, the remote communication device 1104 may be a mobilephone, a tablet computer, a desktop computer, a television, a radio, apersonal digital assistance, a pager, and/or any other suitablecommunication device. The remote communication device 1104 includesmultiple components that may be, for example, part of a computing device1200 and may be embodied in one or more software modules executed by thecomputing device 1200.

The remote communication device 1104 is configured to receive data, suchas food item data, operational data, and maintenance and/or error datafrom the countertop cooking appliance 1102. The remote communicationdevice 1104 includes an input component 1410, a determining component1412, an output component 1414, and a presentation component 1416. Theinput component 1410 is configured to receive data from countertopcooking appliance 1102 and to retrieve data from other components withinsystem 1100, such as data store 1108. In some embodiments, the inputcomponent 1410 retrieves recipe data and/or instructions from data store1108. Recipe data may include, but is not limited to, recipes stored onthe data store 1108 and instructions associated with the recipes. Aninstruction associated with a recipe may include a specific amount ofvarious food items to be combined, a temperature at which to cook a fooditem, a length of time to cook a food item, and the like. Remotecommunication device input component 1410 is also configured to receivea selection of an item, such as a selection of a recipe, by a user.

The remote communication device determining component 1412 is configuredto calculate, compare, and/or determine results based on inputs, such asfrom the remote communication device input component 1410. For example,the remote communication device determining component 1412 determines atemperature of the countertop cooking appliance 1102 based on a signalfrom the countertop cooking appliance 1102 received through the inputcomponent 1410. The determining component 1412 also compares detectedtemperatures to setpoint temperatures to determine, for example, whetheror not the countertop cooking appliance 1102 is at the desiredtemperature, whether or not the food item on the countertop cookingappliance 1102 is at the desired internal temperature, whether or not apredetermined length of cooking time has elapsed, etc.

The remote communication device output component 1414 is configured tooutput data to the presentation component 1416, to the data store 1108,and/or to the countertop cooking appliance 1102. The remotecommunication device display component 1416 is configured to displaydata, such as recipes, instructions, food item data, operational data,and error/maintenance data to the user on the output device 1214 of theremote communication device 1104.

FIGS. 54-56 are flow diagrams of several methods for cooking with acountertop appliance. Although, the methods will be described withreference to the components of the system 1100, the methods may beperformed using any suitable system including a countertop cookingappliance and a remote communication device. The methods describedherein may be performed by the remote communication device 1104 and/orfood preparation appliance 1102 using hardware, software, or acombination of hardware and software. Moreover, the methods may beperformed by the components described with reference to FIG. 53.Further, the methods, or portions of the methods, described herein maybe performed using a software application loaded onto the remotecommunication device 1104 that specifically configures the remotecommunication device 1104 to perform at least some steps of the methods.

FIG. 54 is a flow diagram of a method 1500 for cooking with a countertopcooking appliance. The method 1500 includes receiving 1502, on remotecommunication device 1104, a user selection to cook a food item with thecountertop cooking appliance 1102. The remote communication device 1104retrieves and displays to the user, at 1504, a list of instructions forthe user to select from. The instructions are a list of food items to becooked without a recipe (e.g., chicken breast-fresh, chickenbreast-frozen, steak, fish-frozen, etc.) and/or a list of recipes forpreparing a food item (e.g., savory hamburgers, steak with mushroomsauce, grilled Cajun chicken sandwich, etc.). The instructions may besorted and displayed to the user according to any suitable organization,including alphabetical ordering, grouping by food type, ordered bylength of time required to prepare/cook, etc. Moreover, in someembodiments, the remote communication device also displays to the user asearch box, through which the user may search for a particular fooditem, recipe, and/or instruction.

At 1506, when the user selects an instruction, the remote communicationdevice 1104 retrieves and displays the instruction to the user.Regardless of whether the instruction is a recipe or an instructionwithout a recipe, the instruction will identify the settings for thecountertop cooking appliance 1102 to cook the selected food item/recipe,the time required, and/or the sequence of steps to cook the item. Thesequence of steps may be simple (e.g., cook at *375 degrees Fahrenheitfor 7-9 minutes) or more complex (e.g., cook at 450 degrees Fahrenheitfor 3 minutes, reduce heat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 5 minutes,remove from heat and let rest for 2 minutes). After the instructions areprovided, the user may apply the appropriate settings to the countertopcooking appliance 1102 and cook the food item/recipe according to theinstructions.

In some embodiments, the method 1500 includes receiving a userinstruction to take a photograph with the remote communication deviceand upload the photograph to a remote location. Thus the user may takephotographs of the food item before, during, and/or after preparationand upload the photograph(s) to remote devices, such as a social mediawebsite, a file sharing website, the data store 1108, etc. Thephotograph(s) may also be associated with the instructions for the fooditem photographed, so that users may view photographs of the food itemprepared according to the instructions when reviewing and selectinginstructions. Moreover, in some embodiments, the user may add comment(s)to the photograph and the comment(s) will be displayed with, orotherwise associated with, the photograph.

FIG. 55 is a flow diagram of a method 1600 for cooking with a countertopcooking appliance. The method 1600 includes receiving 1602, on remotecommunication device 1104, a user selection to cook a food item with thecountertop cooking appliance 1102. The communication device 1104retrieves and displays to the user, at 1604, a list of instructions forthe user to select from. At 1606, when the user selects an instruction,the remote communication device 1104 retrieves and displays theinstruction to the user. At 1608, the remote communication device 1104transmits to the countertop cooking appliance 1102 the settings for thecountertop cooking appliance 1102 to cook the selected food item/recipe.The countertop cooking appliance 1102 settings are set by the countertopcooking appliance 1102 as instructed by the remote communication device1104. The settings include the temperature to which the countertopcooking appliance 1102 is to be set. Depending on the recipe and/or fooditem, the instructions may include a sequence of temperatures and a timefor each temperature. For example, when cooking a steak on a contactgrill, it may be desirable to sear the steak at a high temperature for ashort time before reducing the temperature to a lower temperature forthe remaining time required to cook the steak. The instructionstransmitted to the countertop cooking appliance 1102 can instruct thecountertop cooking appliance 1102 to follow the sequence of settingsautomatically. Moreover, the user may adjust the settings to bedifferent than included in the retrieved instructions and/or may selectfrom options provided in the instructions.

At 1610, the remote communication device 1104 receives data from thecountertop cooking appliance 1102. In this embodiment, the remotecommunication device receives operational data, such as the status ofthe countertop cooking appliance 1102 (e.g., off/on, power setting,temperature setting, etc.) and the temperature data about the countertopcooking appliance 1102. The remote communication device 1104 may alsoreceive food item data from the countertop cooking appliance 1102. Thus,the remote communication device 1104 is informed of the temperature ofthe countertop cooking appliance 1102 and can determine when thecountertop cooking appliance 1102 is preheated to the correcttemperature for cooking the selected food item/recipe. In someembodiments, the countertop cooking appliance 1102 determines when ithas reached the desired temperature and alerts the user through itsoutput device 1214 and/or by sending an alert to the remotecommunication device 1104. Alternatively, or additionally, the remotecommunication device 1104 may determine, based on the receivedtemperature data, when the countertop cooking appliance 1102 is heatedto the desired temperature. Upon determining, either directly or from analert received from the countertop cooking appliance 1102, that thedesired temperature has been reached, the remote communication device1104 alerts the user that the countertop cooking appliance 1102 is readyfor use with a visual and/or audible alert on the remote communicationdevice 1104. In some other embodiments, the countertop cooking appliance1102 does not need to be preheated and the countertop cooking appliance1102 is ready to use immediately.

The remote communication device 1104 alerts 1612 the user when thecooking time for the food item has elapsed. Once the countertop cookingappliance 1102 is ready for use to cook the selected food item/recipe,the user places the item on/in the countertop cooking appliance 1102 andinforms the remote communication device 1104 that the cooking hasstarted. In other embodiments, the countertop cooking appliance 1102determines that cooking has begun based on the output of one or moresensor (such as a weight sensor detecting the food item placed on/in thecountertop cooking appliance 1102, a sensor detecting that a previouslyopen lid is closed and latched, etc.). The remote communication device1104 monitors the elapsed time after cooking has begun and alerts theuser when the predetermined cooking time for the food item/recipe haselapsed. The predetermined cooking time is set automatically based onthe cooking time contained in the selected instruction. The user mayadjust the predetermined time to be different than the time included inthe retrieved instructions and/or may select from options provided inthe instructions (e.g., to select between a rare, medium, or well done,steak).

Additionally, in some embodiments, the remote communication device 1104may adjust the predetermined time based on data received from thecountertop cooking appliance 1102. For example, the countertop cookingappliance 1102 may receive a thickness of the food item from thecountertop cooking appliance 1102 (such as by a contact grill countertopcooking appliance 1102 detecting how far apart a bottom and top grillelement are on the contact grill). The remote communication device 1104is able to determine, such as by look-up table or through use of anadjustment formula, cooking time adjustments that may be needed based onthe thickness of the food item. Similarly, the remote communicationdevice 1104 may determine adjustments to the cooking time based onvariations in the temperature data regarding the countertop cookingappliance 1102. Thus, when for example a user repeatedly opens thecountertop cooking appliance 1102 causing the temperature to drop belowthe desired cooking temperature for brief periods of time, the remotecommunication device 1104 can determine and incorporate cooking timeadjustments needed to compensate for the periods during which thetemperature was different than the selected temperature.

FIG. 56 is a flow diagram of a method 1700 for cooking with a countertopcooking appliance. The method 1700 includes receiving 1702, on theremote communication device 1104, settings for the countertop cookingappliance 1102. The settings may be manually selected by the user and/ormay be derived from an instruction/recipe as described above withrespect to the methods 1500 and 1600. The settings include a temperatureat which the countertop cooking appliance 1102 should operate and a fooditem data value that will indicate that the food item to be cooked withthe countertop cooking appliance 1102 has completed cooking. In theexample embodiment, the food item data value that indicates the fooditem has completed cooking is the internal temperature of the food itemmeasured, for example, by the temperature probe 1110 inserted into thefood item. In other embodiments, different food item data values may beused to determine completion of cooking. When countertop cookingappliance 1102 is a rice cooker, for example, the remote communicationdevice 1104 may determine completeness of cooked rice based on adetected amount of moisture remaining, a weight of the rice and waterwithin the rice cooker, a detected volume of rice within the ricecooker, a temperature of the air within the rice cooker, or atemperature of the cooking/cooked rice.

At 1704 the settings for the countertop cooking appliance 1102 aretransmitted by the remote communication device 1104 to the countertopcooking appliance 1102. Thus, in the example embodiment, the temperaturefor the countertop cooking appliance 1102 is transmitted to thecountertop cooking appliance 1102 and the remote communication device1104 operates according to the received temperature setting. In someembodiments, the settings also tell the countertop cooking appliance1102 what data to send to the remote communication device 1104. Thus,the countertop cooking appliance 1102 does not send and the remotecommunication device 1104 does not receive unnecessary and/or unwanteddata.

The remote communication device 1104 receives, at 1706, the food itemdata from the countertop cooking appliance 1102 and alerts the user, at1708, when the food item has finished cooking based, at least in part,on the received food item data. Thus, the remote communication device1104 receives the temperature of the food item and compares the receiveddata to the desired temperature that indicates the food item is cookedas desired. The desired temperature may be automatically set by theremote communication device 1104 based on the type of food item, may bemanually set by the user, and/or may be selected by the user fromoptions (such as between rare, medium, and well done steak). In someinstances, the user may be permitted to change the desired temperatureonly after acknowledging a warning about deviating from recommendedtemperatures.

The methods 1500, 1600, and 1700 described above are neither the onlymethods that may be performed using the system 1100, nor are theyexclusive from each other. The features of the methods 1500, 1600, and1700 may combined in various permutations and combinations for use withthe system 1100. For example, the ability to photograph a food item andupload the photograph to a social media site as described with respectto method 1500 may be a part of the method 1600 and/or 1700.

FIGS. 57-59 illustrate displays on the remote communication device 1104when used in conjunction with the countertop cooking appliance 1102.

FIG. 57 shows a menu display on the remote communication device 1104after a communication connection has been established between the remotecommunication device 1104 and the countertop cooking appliance 1102. Themenu includes selectable options to turn the countertop cookingappliance 1102 on/off, set the temperature of the countertop cookingappliance 1102, and view recipes for use with the countertop cookingappliance 1102. In other embodiments, the menu may include more or feweroptions. For example, in some embodiments, the menu includes astatistical data option to view statistical data about the countertopcooking appliance 1102 (hours of use, serial number, etc.), a helpoption to access help files and instructions for operating thecountertop cooking appliance 1102, a monitor option to monitor thesettings, food item data, and/or operational data without controllingthe countertop cooking appliance 1102, and/or a maintenance option toview recommended/required maintenance procedures.

In FIG. 58, the remote communication device 1104 is displaying anexample recipe selected by a user.

In FIG. 59, the remote communication device 1104 includes a display forsetting and monitoring the current temperature of the remotecommunication device 1104.

Technical effects of the methods, systems, and computer-readable mediadescribed herein include at least one of: (a) receiving a user selectionto cook a food item with a countertop cooking appliance; (b) retrievingand displaying to a user a list of instructions for the user to selectfrom; (c) retrieving and displaying instruction to a user; (d)transmitting countertop cooking appliance settings to a countertopcooking appliance; (e) receiving data from a countertop cookingappliance; (f) alerting a user that a cooking time for a food item haselapsed; and (g) alerting a user when a food item has finished cooking.

This written description uses examples to disclose the invention,including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in theart to practice the invention, including making and using any devices orsystems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope ofthe invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examplesthat occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intendedto be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elementsthat do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if theyinclude equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differencesfrom the literal languages of the claims.

Although certain embodiments of this disclosure have been describedabove with a certain degree of particularity, those skilled in the artcould make numerous alterations to the disclosed embodiments withoutdeparting from the spirit of scope of this disclosure. All directionalreferences (.e.g., upper, lower, upward, downward, left, right,leftward, rightward, top, bottom, above, below, vertical, horizontal,clockwise, and counterclockwise) are only used for identificationpurposes to aid the reader's understanding of the present disclosure,and do not create limitations particularly as to the position,orientation or use of the disclosure. Joinder references (e.g.,attached, coupled, connected, and the like) are to be construed broadlyand may include intermediate members between a connection of elementsrelative movement between elements. As such, joinder references do notnecessarily infer that two elements are directly connected and in fixedrelation to each other. It is intended that all matter contained in theabove description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall beinterpreted as illustrative only and not limiting. Changes in detail orstructure may be made without departing from the spirit of thedisclosure as defined in the appended claims.

When introducing elements of the present disclosure or the variousversions, embodiment(s) or aspects thereof, the articles “a”, “an”,“the” and “said” are intended to mean that there are one or moreelements. The terms “comprising”, “including” and “having” are intendedto be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements otherthan the listed elements. The use of terms indicating a particularorientation (e.g., “top”, “bottom”, “side”, etc.) is for convenience ofdescription and does not require any particular orientation of the itemdescribed.

The various examples and teachings described above are provided by wayof illustration only and should not be construed to limit the scope ofthe present disclosure. Those skilled in the art will readily recognizevarious modifications and changes that may be made without following theexample examples and applications illustrated and described herein, andwithout departing from the true spirit and scope of the presentdisclosure.

1. A cooking appliance comprising: a housing; a heating element disposedwithin the housing; a cooking plate mounted on the housing; and acontrol device configured to communicate with a user computing devicevia a wireless network, receive a cooking configuration from the usercomputing device via the wireless network, and control the heatingelement to heat the cooking plate based upon the cooking configuration.2. The cooking appliance of claim 1, wherein: the housing has a forwardend and a rearward end; and the cooking plate has a food contact surfaceconfigured to receive a food item, the food contact surface configuredto slope down from the rearward end to the forward end when the cookingplate is mounted on the housing.
 3. The cooking appliance of claim 1,wherein: the housing has a forward end and a rearward end; and thecooking plate has a food contact surface configured to receive a fooditem, the food contact surface configured to be substantially flat fromthe rearward end to the forward end when the cooking plate is mounted onthe housing.
 4. The cooking appliance of claim 2, further comprising: agrease tray secured to the forward end of the housing and configured toreceive a liquid substance flowing toward the forward end and drippingfrom the cooking plate.
 5. The cooking appliance of claim 1, furthercomprising: a thermostat assembly configured to monitor a temperature ofthe cooking plate.
 6. The cooking appliance of claim 1, furthercomprising: a temperature probe assembly configured to be inserted intothe food item and monitor a temperature of the food item.
 7. The cookingappliance of claim 6, wherein the temperature probe assembly iselectrically connected to the control device and sends a signalindicative of the temperature of the food item to the control device. 8.The cooking appliance of claim 6, wherein the temperature probe assemblyis electrically connected to the user computing device and sends asignal indicative of the temperature of the food item to the usercomputing device.
 9. The cooking appliance of claim 1, wherein thecooking configuration includes a target cooking temperature.
 10. Amethod of controlling a cooking appliance, the method comprising:receiving cooking configuration data from a user computing device via awireless network, the cooking configuration data including a targetcooking temperature; and controlling a heating element to heat a cookingplate until a temperature of a food item reaches the target cookingtemperature.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the user computingdevice is configured to prompt a user to provide a cooking configurationinput therethrough and generate the cooking configuration data basedupon the cooking configuration input.
 12. The method of claim 10,further comprising: prior to controlling a heating element, controllingthe heating element to heat the cooking plate until a temperature of thecooking plate reaches the target cooking temperature; and prompting auser to place the food item in the cooking appliance.
 13. The method ofclaim 12, wherein: prompting a user to place the food item in thecooking appliance includes alerting the user through the user computingdevice.
 14. The method of claim 12, wherein: prompting a user to placethe food item in the cooking appliance includes alerting the userthrough the cooking appliance.
 15. The method of claim 10, furthercomprising: prior to receiving cooking configuration data, establishinga wireless connection to the user computing device via a router.
 16. Themethod of claim 15, wherein the user computing device is configured toprompt a user to input a wireless connection password for establishingthe wireless connection via the router.
 17. A cooking appliancecomprising: a first assembly comprising: a first housing; a firstheating element disposed with the first housing; and a first cookingplate detachably mounted on the first housing; a second assemblycomprising: a second housing pivotally coupled to the first housing; anda second heating element disposed with the second housing; a controlcircuit configured to communicate with a user computing device via awireless network and operable to: receive cooking configuration datafrom the user computing device, the cooking configuration data includinga target cooking temperature; and control at least one of the first andsecond heating elements to heat the first cooking plate until atemperature of a food item reaches the target cooking temperature. 18.The cooking appliance of claim 17, wherein the control circuit isfurther operable to: prior to controlling a heating element, control atleast one of the first and second heating element to heat the firstcooking plate until a temperature of the first cooking plate reaches thetarget cooking temperature; and prompt a user to place the food item inthe cooking appliance.
 19. The cooking appliance of claim 17, whereinthe second assembly further comprises a second cooking plate detachablymounted on the second housing.
 20. The cooking appliance of claim 17,wherein: the first housing has a forward end and a rearward end; and thefirst cooking plate has a food contact surface configured to receive thefood item, the food contact surface configured to slope down from therearward end to the forward end when the first cooking plate is mountedon the first housing. 21-33. (canceled)